


The Scars We Carry

by Localcryptid420



Series: Mending wounds [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: F/M, How Do I Tag, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Strong Female Characters, That's Not How The Force Works, The Force Ships It, still not sure how to tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:54:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 33,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24156193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Localcryptid420/pseuds/Localcryptid420
Summary: Celeste had gone through so much and figured that she'd earned a little peace. With her small farm and a village under her protection she was content to stay right where she was for the rest of her life. Unfortunately the force has other plan,and Cel's life was about to be uprooted by a certain mandolarian and his tiny green foundling.
Relationships: Baby Yoda & The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV), The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV)/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Mending wounds [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1765966
Comments: 10
Kudos: 39





	1. How it all began

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic ever a little nervous about putting this out there but this idea wouldn't leave me alone. Updates will probably be sporadic at best so sorry in advance. Will tag characters as they come into the fic. Let me know what you think :).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: After rereading this chapter I realized what a hot mess it was. I was in such a hurry to post it before I chicken out that I didn't really look it over. Hopefully it's better now,hope you enjoy.

Sunlight poured through the window onto the sleeping figure. Cel groaned, white hair tousled from sleep,and slowly rolled out of bed stretching ready to start her day. 

A half an hour of meditation followed by breakfast then taking care of the animals and tending the crops then lunch. Her afternoons varied sometimes she'd have extra work other times she could laze about,the evenings were spent meditating some more usually an hour or two then it was time for bed to start the whole thing over again the next day.

To some this might be the most boring routine in the whole galaxy, but for Cel it was perfect. After a lifetime of running she figured she had earned this,this peace and quiet.

It had been five long years since the empire fell and Cel could still hardly believe it some days, still convincing it was all some cruel joke and there would be inquisitors knocking her door down any day now. 

She had arrived here four years ago the little village about an hours walk from her farm had been home for a year,after she had helped clear some raiders from it,before she had wanted a more secluded existence. She would still visit regularly, but it was nice it have a quiet place to come back to.

At first she had been hesitant to use the force,old habits and fears,but it was incredibly useful around the farm,whether calming animals or moving things you would normally need a whole crew to lift so she found herself using it more and more until she woke up one day and found she wasn't scared anymore.

Having found a new confidence Cel would use the force to project, sensing the world around her to make sure the raiders weren't coming back.

It had been an accident the first time she felt them. She had been looking for River, the leader of the village and one of Cel's closest friends, when she had felt an unfamiliar and angry group of people. After alerting some of the villagers,they had ambushed the group and learned that they were scouts. Apparently the head honcho was desperate to get this place back,but wouldn't tell anyone why. Cel had convinced the villagers to keep one of the raiders alive so he could send a warning back to leave them alone. She had looked him straight in the eye and told him she would not be so kind next time.

They got a little to bold every now and again and she would feel another scouting group in the area,usually no more then five,which she could easily dispatch herself. You'd think after the seventh group had disappeared they would have gotten the hint and left it alone, but it would seem they were more brawn then brain which was fine with her.

The raiders may not have caught on to what Cel was doing but the villagers did. Maybe not understanding exactly what she was doing but more then a few times Cel had gone down to the village to give them her produce to sell while bandaged,she was good not a miracle worker.

In turn they would get her anything she needed from the Center, a large bazaar about a half a days walk from the village. It was a trip she couldn't make herself with all the work she had so she was very appreciative of it. All in all Cel figured she had a pretty nice set up here,and while she did miss traveling she wouldn't trade her life here for anything. Or so she thought. The force,as usual, had it's own plans and unbeknownst to Cel as she settled in for her nightly meditations things where about to change big time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cel went through the breathing exercises her _numa_ had taught her and slowly relaxed until everything else fell away and it was just her and the force. She began expanding her sense through it moving out checking the area around her and pushing farther and farther. She was expecting some animals,maybe another group of foolish raider,what she was not expecting was to feel something or someone reaching back toward her. Cel found herself froze for a moment completely dumbfounded,she had never felt someone reach out through the force to her in all her time here.

Old instincts kicked in and she started rapidly withdrawing pulling back into herself and readying her mental walls,but the other user seemed distressed by this which caused Cel to hesitated. She wasn't stupid,she knew there must have been other jedi who survived the attack besides her _numa_ and herself,but she found herself weighing the odds that another force user just so happen to be on this planet and just so happen to be close enough to sense her using force vs it being some kind of trap.

But then Cel felt them again,searching for her and they seemed so sad that she had disappeared feeling almost childlike. So after weighing her options and deciding to trust the force Cel lowered her walls and reached back for them. They immediately brightened reaching towards her and latching on,burning so brightly that Cel knew there was no way they were a sith.

She pushed that she was happily surprised to have found another force user however they didn't seem to understand,merely pushing happiness towards her which turned to confusion after a moment. She could feel that they were confused as to why they couldn't see her. Cel pushed a vison to them,showing them that she was kneeling in meditation in her room. She felt their curiosity at that and after a moment she felt them reach back and obliged letting them show her their own vison.

At first it was incredibly hard to make out, a mess of colorful shapes to say the least,but after a moment things came into view. They were sitting in a floating bassinet in a room of some kind. _Well if they were a child that certainly explains something_ she thought to herself. As they showed her the rest of the room she found herself tensing,a cold shiver of fear gripping her spine,as a mandolarian came into view.

They appeared to be cleaning a weapon sitting on the bed in full suite of beskar armor. Mandolarians and jedi did not have the best history and Cel grew worried what this one was doing with a force sensitive child,but they had sensed that and the scene changed.

The child was staring up at the mandalorian and some kind of droid,the droid lifted it blaster pointing it at the child but before it could pull the trigger the mandalorian shot it. Then reached out a finger to the child wiggling it slightly. More scenes played out,a figure running at the child with an axe only to be blown up by the mandolarian,a large mud horn charging at them before getting jerked off the the side by him,and the child returning the favor by lifting the mud horn and saving his new guardian. Being held by him,carried around a ship. The mandolarian feeding the child and gently rocking them in his arms till the child was asleep. Whispering words in a language they didn't understand,but the tone conveyed nothing but warm affection.

She relaxed a little,the mandolarian was clearly caring for the child as if it was his own, and did her best to ignore that cautious voice in the back of her mind pointing out that hundreds of years of war and bloodshed didn't just disappear because of a cute baby. The child had felt safe with him and the mandolarian had clearly seen what the child could do and had still stayed with and protected them,that had to count for something right?

Cel could feel the child growing more and more tired so she gently put a stop to the vision and memories,trying to coax him to sleep. The child was having none of it and she could feel them trying to reach back out to her,but before she could try to push another wave of calm towards them she felt something else on the edge of her conscience. 

Withdrawing from the child entirely Cel reached for it and felt new fear fill her. Raiders,easily fifty,headed straight for the village. Pushing thoughts of force sensitive children to the back of her mind she drew back into herself.

Cel's eyes snapped open and she was on her feet in an instant. _Focus_ Cel told herself, _only take what you need_. She snagged her blaster,her med kit,and her emergency stash of credits,she already knew they would need to hire outside help for this,and started for the door before stopping.

Cel turned around and went into her room. Pulling up one of the floor boards and grabbing a wooden box from below,she opened it and gently grabbed her _numa's_ lightsaber from inside. She debated with herself for a moment then put it in her pack with the rest of her things,better safe then sorry, before heading out.

Any other time she might have been impressed with how quickly she got to the village, but right now Cel was only painfully aware that every second she wasted the raiders were getting closer so she headed right up to River's house and started knocking incessantly.

She heard River moving inside and opened the door looking confused which only increased with the sight of Cel. 

"Raiders,"Cel panted out," Lots of raiders we need to get ready,and we'll need to hire some outside help this time".

River nodded grimly. Turning around she called out to her husband, "Sam start gathering everyone,we need to meet up in the hall and come up with a plan".

Most family's were winding down for the day, relaxing together and winding down,many of them were very confused as to what was going on,but between River,Sam, and Cel they managed to get everyone into the great hall and updated on the situation. A tense silence had fallen over everyone.

"Well then,we will just beat them back like last time," Simone an older,no nonsense woman said. She had been there when they first kicked the raiders out of the village and had a large scar starting at her hairline and down across her left eye for her troubles.

Cel cleared her throat and stepped forward," This isn't like last time. Last time there was fewer then twenty and we still got very lucky that we lost as few as we did. We need to hire outside help for this,people with experience. That's the only way this village will survive". A murmur of unease rose up from the crowd,but was quickly silenced as River stepped forward.

"Celeste is right. We need to hire mercenaries,we cannot do this on our own,not this time and we will need to move the children someplace safe. I need volunteers to start escorting the children and those who can not fight to the Center,and one will need to bring the mercenaries back here". A few hands went up,Simone among them, River nodded gratefully and said,"Alright let us start moving,we have much to do". 

With everyone else occupied Cel quietly approached Simone and gave her the bag of credits. 

"I trust your judgment on who we should hire,just don't spend it all in one place eh", Cel prodded playful.

Simone huffed,but a strained smile tugged at her lips,"And you make sure this place it still standing when we get back". Cel nodded then turned and went to go help people pack.

Less then an hour later everyone was ready to go. Hugs were exchanged,as were promises that they would all see each other again and with Simone leading the charge the group headed out to the Center. 

Cel hoped that they could save this place,but knowing that even if they failed the little ones would be okay set her a little more at ease. She stared up at the twin moons hanging overhead. They should reach the Center by morning and,should everything go smoothly,be back by midday.

The raiders wouldn't be close till tomorrow night. The plan was to be waiting for them in the woods,hopefully they would be tired from walking for so long and just as they would let their guard down to make camp,they would strike.

Cel took a deep breath,it was going to be a grueling next few days. Even if they were victorious in this there would be bodies to clean up and dead to mourn, no victory was ever quite as cut and dry as the holonet would have you think. She slowly breathed out,whatever was going to happen, was going to happen the best they could do was get ready.

Din liked this place,well liked was a strong word but it was nice here. Not small enough to feel stagnant,but not big enough to be overwhelming.

He and the kid had touched down yesterday morning and the kid had immediately had been enamoured by all the sights and sounds this place had to offer. They had spent all day going through the many stalls and vendors,and Din found stuff was much cheaper when you have an adorable child with you.

He looked over his should and let out a little huff at the sight of the kids bassinet overflowing with toys, gifts from the locals. The kid looked extremely excited about all his new play things. As the day progresses and the sun started going down Din called it a day and rented a room from one of the Inns,a bit to pricey in his opinion,and they bunkered down for the night.

Once Din made sure the womp rat was fed and all tucked in he started cleaning his rifle. Didn't matter that they were on vacation,Din wasn't gonna be caught off guard by some lowlife who hadn't got the memo that the kid didn't have a bounty anymore.

He lost himself to the routine of it all,taking it apart,cleaning it piece by piece,and reassembling it. He was so focused that he barely noticed when the kid started making noises,until he started wailing.

Din's head snapped up his,blaster already out of the holster but he didn't see anyone else in the room. He walked over to the kid and picked him up,gently rocking him back and forth till he calmed down.

"Well what was that all about",the kid didn't respond,looking like he was about to fall asleep so Din kept rocking him till he did.

After placing him back in his bassinet Din did a full sweep of the room just to be sure,but he couldn't find anything wrong and after a bit of hesitation he laid down to sleep too. He kept his blaster on the nightstand just in case. If there was something up with this place they would be leaving soon.

The next morning was weird to say the least. Din woke up and the child was awake in his bassinet just....sitting there. Normally if Din wasn't up before the kid he would wake him up,usually by slapping his helmet,and demand food but he was just sitting there,looking like he was trying to concentrate on something. Din got up cautiously and sweep the room again,but still couldn't find anything. Letting out a deep sigh and deciding it was just one of those days Din turned to the kid.

"Are you at least hungry", that got his attention,slowly turning to look up at Din before smiling,"Yeah thought so,alright let's go".

The kid seemed extra eager to go out today,but Din figured he was just ready to be showered in more gifts. As they stepped out the door Din turned around and was about to tell him no more toys,but the kid was gone.

He looked back and forth frantically and then spotted the little green menace moving surprisingly fast down the street Din let out a curse and chased after him. He didn't catch up with him till a few streets later and it was only because the kid stopped behind a crowd.

Din reached down a grabbed him letting lose a sigh of relief,frowning he was about to scold him for running off but his attention turned to what everyone was gathering around. It was a cart full of people,mostly kids but there was some older people and two pregnant women in it to.

Din shifted uneasily, unsure of what was going on. There was an older lady, dark hair with a bit of silver and a long scar starting from her hairline down her forehead over her left eye,who was talking to one of the people in the group. He heard her say something about raider and not safe but couldn't hear that well.

Feeling eyes on him Din kept still and scanned the crowd,but didn't see anyone openly staring at him until he looked down and there was one of the kids from the cart. Din crouched in front of her.

"You are a mandolarian aren't you",she asked,Din nodded, "Oh,my mama says mandolarians are strong. We need strong people to keep home safe. Are you gonna to help us?"

Before Din could answer a shadow loomed over them,the scar lady. She seemed relieved to see the kid.

"Willow you can't just go wandering off like that", the girl looked sheepish,murmuring a gentle sorry before heading back to the cart. Din stood back up and tilted his head.

"You looking to hire", scar lady looked him over before nodding.

"Raiders incoming on our village, least fifty,we leave asap pay is twenty thousand,ten thousand now and ten when its done. What do you say?"

Din hesitated for a moment. This was supposed to be a vacation,but the little one had clearly brought him here. They needed help and he was getting paid so he nodded

"Let me go grab my stuff I'll be back here in twenty",scar lady nodded then turned back to the cart. Din let out what felt like the hundredth sigh that morning. Looking down at the kid he said,"Couldn't let us have more then one day,huh", the green menace just stared up at him with his big eyes as if he was the most innocent creature in the galaxy. Din let out one final sigh then went to get his stuff,this was gotta be a long few days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Numa_ =sister


	2. The battle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the kind words! I wasn't even sure if anyone would read this so your support means the world to me,thank you so so much!

Cel slowly rolled her shoulders trying to get the knots out,she felt absolutely terrible. Sleep had been scarce and she knew she wasn't the only one who had trouble. An intense sense of foreboding had been hanging over the village since last night and while she had tried her hardest to push a sense of peace and calm through the force. It hadn't worked very well. Too many minds fearful of what was to come. Not that she blamed them of course,there was no telling what was going to happen by tomorrow. She doubted anyone had gotten more then a few hours herself included.

Cel rolled her neck and focused back in on the conversation,"So its decided, they're more then likely going to set up camp in the canyon tonight. We'll have three groups. Group one is on the ground,this will be our primary group you guys are going to start with picking off as many as you can before they notice you. Once they do start lighting them up.

Group two will be on the western ridge of the canyon,your job is cover fire. You see anyone getting to close to group one or sitting a little to cozy behind some cover you take them out. Group three is surveillance,you see anyone try to circle around one of the other groups its on you to get them or let us know if reinforcements start coming.

Are we all clear?"Rivers voice rang out through the hall followed by a chorus of yes ma'ams. "Good now try to get a little more shut eye before the others get back",she looked kindly over the exhausted faces in the crowd. As everyone flooded out to do just that River turned to only person left in the hall.

Cel was nodding off in her chair when she felt someone gently shaking her shoulder,with eyes snapping open and a mumbled I'm awake she looked up at a somewhat amused River

"Did you want to head to one of the open beds?"

Cel said,"No,no I'm fine. Go over it with me again",River looked doubtful but the two walked over to the map and stared it over.

There was a commotion outside,probably Simone back with whoever she had managed to find. Cel would head out in a moment,but as she looked the map over she asked River,"Are you sure the western side is best, looks a bit more open on the eastern ridge".

River shook her head,"Sun rises in the west and we have no way of knowing how long the fight will last"

Cel hummed thoughtfully. "Okay but what if w-",she cut herself off as she felt a very familiar presence as well as an odd weight on her leg.

Looking down Cel came face to face with the cutest creature she'd ever seen,and she had seen lots of creatures. It was absolutely tiny with green skin and huge ears. Cel had no idea what the kid was,but she instantly loved him. Big eyes staring up at her imploringly,he gave her a toothy grin and started cooing happily,making uppy hands at her. Cel slowly reached down and scooped the child up.

"Oh my maker,that's the cutest thing I've ever seen",River gasped reaching out and stroking his ear. 

Cel could hardly believe it,this was the force user she had felt? She had figured they were young but this was a baby. A very powerful baby,but a baby nonetheless.

Staring at him intently Cel felt like she knew his face,something was nagging at the back of her mind but she couldn't quite place it. Slowly letting out a breath she gave the kid a small smile.

"Well nice to meet you",the child merely babbled nonsense at her but Cel put on a very serious face and started nodding along dropping the occasional really and no ways.

Simone popped her head into the hall,doing a double take at the sight of the kid before popping her head back and hollering something about a tin can then popping back in and telling them that everyone was here before heading back out.

Cel rolled her shoulders again then turned to River",You ready for this?"

River let out her own sigh and said," Not really but let's go anyway",she gently rubbed the little ones ear again and they both turned to the door only to see a mandolarian standing in it.

Cel felt her heart stop for a moment before reminding herself to relax,just breath. He was clearly the same one that had been looking after the kid and there was no way he knew what she was.

The child started squirming so she put him down and he happily totter over to his guardian.

"Is he your kid then?" River asked

He nodded crouching down and picking the kid up.Cel felt a wave of relief from him at the sight of the child and immediately she felt bad.

"Oh you must have been worried about where he was,sorry about that".

The mandolarian shifted from foot to foot before softly saying, "It's alright, he's safe that's what matters". 

River grinned throwing an arm around Cel's shoulder and said,"Well if your kid ever goes missing again I'd check with Celeste first,she's some kind of baby magnet. They all love her it's the weirdest thing".

Cel rolled her eyes,"Just because I can get them to stop crying doesn't mean they love me".

River only clicked her tongue before ushering them all outside with the others.

The good mood quickly vanished once they joined the others. The smile disappearing from River's face as she shifted back into battle mode and started explaining the plan. Cel looked around at everyone. They had a group of about thirty strong,all in all not bad.

On top of the mandolarian Simone had managed to get two trandoshans and an aqualish,plus whoever volunteered from the neighbouring villages. Cel felt her spirit rise a little as she looked at all the eager faces,if they played their cards they might actually have a chance at this.

With the plans all laid out and everyone up to speed they all went off to go do whatever they could before they started heading to the canyon. For Cel that meant checking over her blaster for the hundredth time and making sure the saber was hidden beneath her clothes. Using it in battle was a last resort situation,but if it would save lives she would.

With nothing else to really do Cel figured a little pre-battle meditation wouldn't hurt so she found a nice quiet spot under a tree and started her breathing exercises. Before she could get very far she felt a familiar presence and weight clambering onto her lap. Looking down she came face to face with the child cooing up at her.

Cel smiled down at him,"Well hello again",she said,"And where is your papa hmm? I'm sure he's worried about you",he just kept watching her intently. "Well I'm sure he'll come find us eventually, why don't you just wait here and meditate with me until he comes for you".

She could feel his confusion and figuring he wouldn't really get the whole meditation thing she just pushed a sense of calm over him.

Settling him in her lap a bit better,she started her exercises over and kept the calming waves around her. It was nice,the kid would coo occasionally and she could feel herself growing more focused. Then a wall of panic slammed into her.

Cel opened her eyes and tried to figure out what was going on when a very panicked mandolarian came into view and then everything settled. She shifted uneasily as he walked closer.

Giving him an apologetic smile she said,"Sorry,I swear I'm not doing this on purpose".

He just shook his head and answered,"Not your fault. Kid doesn't normally run off this much,he must really like you".

He stopped a few feet away and after a bit of hesitation sat down on the ground as well. Cel was at a bit unsure of what to do. She didn't want to be rude and ask if he needed something,and if he wanted the kid back she was sure he would have asked. He was just sort of staring at her and she felt an awkward tension building.

Luckily the kid seemed to sense this as he turned to Cel and started babbling at her again. She engaged him in conversation,nodding like he was telling her the most important news and telling him no way every now and again. Temporarily forgetting the mandolarian sitting right next to her watching this.

After a few minutes the child seemed to tire,climbing off Cel's lap and returning to his mando. 

"Does that help them,with learning to speak or something",he asked.

Cel nodded,"Yup it encourages babies to engage in conversation so they learn words faster".

He merely nodded again,"You um,you seem really good with kids".

Cel smiled,"Well I've done my fair share of babysitting".

The conversation started to lull once more,but this time it was River who spoke up,"Oh there you two are,its time to go".

Cel and mando both nodding,mando stood up first and offered his hand to Cel who gave him a smile and a quiet thanks as he pulled her up then the two went to join the others.

After a few hours of trekking they had reached the spot,everyone split off into their respective groups and got ready. About two more hours passed before the raiders became visible. Moving very slowly and,confirmed by River over the coms,looking very worn down.

As they stopped about half way through the canyon and started setting up camp, group one started closing in. Cel felt that battle ready calm settling over her the closer they got. The plan was simple,pick off as many as they could before the raiders caught on then give them hell.

The first victim was some guy leaving to take a leak. Once he was far enough away from the camp mando shot some sort grappler at him,hauled him close,and slammed him up against a tree in one short brutal move.

Cel found herself staring for a minute before taking whatever emotions that had pulled out of her and shoving them back down where they belong. She could deal with them later,or never, probably never.

It was slow pickings,the raiders were staying together for the most part only a few poor souls wandering off. People were getting antsy so River decided on a new tact. Everyone aim for one person,and they were all going to fire at once.

It would drop a lot of targets if they did this right,so with hushed whispers over the coms everyone settled on a target and River would count them down from five. It did not go right. Just as River hit four someone shot,then chaos erupted.

Raiders ran for cover and started returning fire. The lookout up top had to be very careful as they peaked over the edge to make sure they wouldn't get hit. The ground was a mess of blaster bolts flying in every direction and explosions that felt like it went on for hours,but Cel could feel it. They were winning, they could do this. Then something rumbled to life in the camp.

"TANK",came Rivers panicked warning a bit to late as a massive barrel pointed to the ground group and fired directly towards them. Cel felt something heavy slam into her and she just could make out the gleam of beskar hovering over her before a shower of pine needles and rocks flew up from where she had just been. Her and mando managed to get behind cover just as another shot went off.

_  
A tank_ ,Cel thought to herself bitterly _,where the kriff had these idiots gotten a tank from,_ another shot rocked her and mando's tiny hideout. Okay think now,be bitter later.

Cel asked herself,how do you get rid of a tank? 

She leaned closer to mando,"Do you have any explosives on you".

He shook his head regretfully,"Didn't think I'd need it",he almost sounded mournful.

Cel had the overwhelming urge to laugh,but swallowed it down. _Kunta_.

With the ground group pinned by the tank that left the lookout practically useless as the raiders down here could just keep firing up at them. They were all stuck.

Unless, _unless._

Cel felt the weight of the lightsaber against her leg.

If she could get close enough to the tank she could cut it open and get inside,but that was _if_ she could get close enough. 

"River,do you think you could divert the tanks attention the other way".

There was a beat of silence before River answered,"How long do you need it to face the other way".

Cel poked her head up,mindful of the mandolarian still half crouched over her,and saw how far she'd have to move.

Dropping back down she said,"Give me about five seconds".

Another beat of silence then,"Yeah,yeah I can give you five seconds".

Cel looked up into the helmet hovering over her.

"What exactly is the plan here",the mandolarian asked. 

She turned to see where everyone else was before she gathered the force around herself and slid out from beneath him.Giving him a smile she said",Hope I don't _kunta_ this up",and gave River the signal.

One. Leaping out over the rock she heard several people shout her name in alarm, but she continued on igniting the saber and charging forward, deflecting blaster bolts at she went.

Two. She managed to get two of the raiders with the saber and threw a third one into the wall.

Three. She had to duct behind some cover as a barrage of bolts went her way only for bolts to be fired back,the others returning fire including mando.

Four. Cel gave a grateful nod and sprinted full speed at the tank deflecting more shots as she went.

Five. The tank started to turn back,to late Cel leapt and was already on top cutting a hole in the hatch and jumping in. There were only two people inside,dispatched easily enough,so she grabbed the controls,aimed at the nearest batch of raiders and fired.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Din had figured this whole this was going to easy. Sure he had a bit of a panic when they had first arrived in the village and the kid wandered off again.

Except this time Din hadn't seen him move at all so he had no idea where to look. Only for scar lady,Simone he had learned, to call him over to a huge building in the middle of town where he walked to very fast,not at all stressed out of his mind.

Opening the door he was hit with a wave of relief at the sight of his kid in the arms of a couple of ladies who were turning towards the door as if to leave. They froze at the sight of him but the kid seemed perfectly content and that was all that mattered.

One of them was a bit older looking,streaks of grey in her long red hair but her face told him she was no older then fifty. The other one looked a bit younger,thirties maybe,with short white hair that looked like she had been running her fingers through it a lot.

The kid had wanted down and the white haired one did so without question. They asked some questions,gave him some answers and seemed like nice people overall who clearly knew each other well.

At the briefing outside Din saw why red hair,River as she had introduced herself,was the leader or maybe the matriarch of this village. Her voice rang out loud and clear through the group, and she held herself high even while looking exhausted.

After everyone was dismissed he and the kid had wandered a bit only for Din to turn around a see that he had disappeared again. This time there was no Simone to flag him down.

He tried very hard to keep a level head but of course his brain just kept throwing all the worse possible scenarios at him. After searching for the womp rat a bit,while totally not panicking,he felt another wave of relief as he rounded a corner and found the kid sitting on the white haired ones lap looking incredibly peaceful.

Celeste,River had called her, gave him a weak smile and promised she wasn't doing this on purpose. They had sat and talked for a bit and he learned the she was good with kids,really good with kids. As she sat there explaining something to him Din found himself lost in her eyes for a moment. They were a beautiful icy blue with flecks of silver. Then River called and it was go time, and after feeling....something when she had smiled at him and taken his hand Din carefully shoved all those feelings down before they had time to grow. Even as his hand still tingled where she had grabbed it.

They made it to the canyon okay,the kid was staying in the hall,and everything was setup okay and even after their cover was blown by whatever idiot had shot so early it was all going pretty damn smoothly. Until the kriffing tank showed up.

Din had never moved so fast in his life. Grabbing Celeste,rolling out of the way,and then rolling over her to protect her from debris. Stuck behind minimal cover with a tank raining fire down on you wasn't ideal and he was really beginning to regret not having brought any explosives when Celeste got this look on her face like she was either about to do something really brave or really stupid.

When he asked her what the plan was she just gave him a heart stopping smile and said that she hoped she wouldn't fuck up before hauling ass towards the tank with nothing but an odd glowing blade and Din nearly had a heart attack.

But as she fluidly weaved her way through the raiders,cutting down two of them and sending a third flying without even touching him,deflecting bolts with inhuman speed and made an impossible leap onto the top of the tank he wondered if she was what they had been looking for.

The fight ended pretty quickly after Celeste got the tank. They were just cleaning up at this point but Din was conflicted. Had he really found one of these jedi? So quickly to? He had been hoping for more time with the kid but if she was a jedi Din needed to give him to her,but he didn't know if he could.

After everything he was supposed to give the kid to a complete stranger and what, just leave? Maybe that made him selfish but Din thought he would rather take the kid and go. Pretend like he'd never found her. The walk back the the village was filled with people chatting and congratulations being tossed around,but Din and Celeste both kept their distance.


	3. No goodbyes, only see you laters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you for the encouraging words. I wanted to dip into a bit of Celeste backstory in this chapter,although we won't hear the full story for a few more chapters. Again thank you and let me know what you think :D

They had done it,by some kriffing miracle they had won with only a few major injuries but Cel would take injured over dead any day. They were currently making their way back to the village, spirits much lighter then yesterday. Cel was helping a limping Simone,she had twisted her ankle trying to run for cover and had a nasty looking gash on her arm but it wasn't the worst injury in the group.

Scott,one of the volunteers from a different village, had taken a bad hit to his leg,it wouldn't need to come off but he'd be on bedrest for a few weeks at least. He was currently hopped up on painkillers and was telling anyone willing to listen about how much he loved his husband and how he couldn't wait to get back home to him.

Cel felt better then she had in days,the raiders were taken care of,there were no casualties, and there was going be a huge feast tonight,she could hardly wait. Everything was perfect, well almost everything.

Cel felt his eyes on her for the third time and just like before she didn't acknowledge him. She had the first time,turning to give him a smile only to be shocked at the waves of confusion, anger, and hurt coming off of him. When she had tried to ask what was wrong he just brushed her off and stayed at the back of the group.

At first she had been annoyed, yeah okay she was a jedi and he was upset that she hadn't told him,but how exactly was she supposed to work that into a conversation? Oh wow you're a mandolarian that's pretty neat,I'm a jedi what a coincidence huh. But the longer they walked the more Cel thought it over and yeah okay she got it.

She was the enemy and he had fought right along side her without knowing,hell he had even saved her life. Cel figured she'd be pretty pissed fighting along side a deathtrooper or something without knowing so yeah she understood. That didn't make it hurt any less though.

As they grew closer to the village, a few people went ahead to the clinic to get everything ready. River had already extended the invitation to everyone for the feast letting them know they were more than welcome. And for those who didn't want to stay she let them know that the cart would be back in an hour or two to take them back to the Center.

River had commed the others in the Center once the firefight died down to let them know it was safe to come back. That left Cel with a about two hours of trying to avoid the adorable clingy baby and his pissed dad,it didn't go very well.

She was excellent at avoiding mando,it was the kid she was having trouble with. Everytime she thought she was safe she'd turn a corner and bam,he'd be sitting there waiting for her demanding to be picked up and hugged. Cel had given up about a half an hour in and just sat under a tree playing with him,making sure they were in full view of mando so he wouldn't freak out again.

Mando had seemed fine with that, but he didn't approach them like last time. As she played peekaboo with kid she felt mando's hurt and anger melt away until there was just sadness. Cel would give anything to know what exactly he was thinking.

Was he sad because of the kid? Was he sad because he and Cel were on opposite sides? Was he sad because they would be leaving soon? She had no idea and it frustrated her to no end. As the cart rolled up and the occupants got out to greet families and friends,she found herself approaching him.

He was already loading his things into the back. Him,Scott,and the other mercenaries were heading back the the Center and as Cel got closer he stopped what he was doing to watch her. She felt herself falter for a moment. What exactly was she going to say to him?

Sorry our people have hundreds of years of war between them,but that doesn't matter we can be friends anyway. Cel doubted she could say anything that would change his mind,so instead she merely handed the child to him.

"You take care of your papa little one,and you should stop running off on him",she said gently stroking his ear. 

The child just blinked up with those impossibly big eyes and cooed. Cel felt a sad smile cross her face she was going to miss him,miss both of them if she was being honest with herself.

She looked up at mando and said,"You take care,both of you". She didn't feel any anger from him so she grinned and told him _,"Sahak Chir"._

She felt a flicker of surprise from him for second before he grumbled it back to her. Cel's grin slipped into a warmer smile,glad that he seemed to have cooled off a bit. She would take begrudging respect over open hostility.

As they packed into the cart the child whimpered and Cel felt her heart break a little,"Its okay _pika,_ you'll be okay,and who knows maybe we'll all see each other again",he gripped onto her finger and gave her a look as if to say,why can't you come with us?

Cel pushed a feeling of calm onto the child until he stopped fussing and for one crazy moment she thought about asking to come along,but decided that just because mando had cooled down a bit didn't mean he'd want to travel with a jedi. So she just gave them both one final wave as the cart started back down the road to the Center. Cel watched it until it was out of sight then turned to go help with whatever she could,trying her best to ignore painful feeling in her chest.

The celebration was amazing, delicious food piled high on tables,friends and families reunited, and upbeat music. Cel watched it all from one of the grassy hills on the outskirts.

This reminded her of when they had held a festival at the temple. She didn't remember what it was for but she remembered bright colors and loud music and the feeling of happiness hanging in the air. She felt herself slipping back to that day.

It had been unusually busy in the temple, typically it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop,but that day was different. She had been waiting in the courtyard for Ezal when a chorus of frogs grabbed her attention. She hesitated, but decided it couldn't hurt to try to catch just one so she went down to the little pond.

It took some patience, but Cel had done it so many times before she was an expert. With her tongue poking out in concentration she managed to grab one. 

"And what are you doing down here", a warm,familiar voice asked. Cel turn around to face knight Ezal and was quick to show the twi'lek woman her prize.

Ezal just laughed, "Are you tormenting these poor frogs again _pika_ ",Cel grinned sheepishly before releasing the poor creature. Ezal looked her over and said,"Why don't we get you cleaned up,then we can go to the festival," Cel nodded excitedly and took Ezal's hand as they walked off.

It had been the best day of Cel's life. There had been so much food to try and so many games to play. It had past so quickly,and at the end of the day Ezal had carried her back to her room and tucked her in. It was a memory Cel held dear to her heart.

Lost in the past she found herself dipping into darker memories. The day of the attack. Ezal carrying her through the hallways stroking her hair and telling her that something was wrong and she needed to be very quiet or- a loud burst of laughter pulled Cel from her mind and she shook her head,this was not the night for dark thoughts.

Deciding she had been away long enough she got up and walked down to join the others. The celebration was in full swing,the ale having been brought out about an hour ago but Cel stuck to water,she needed a clear head tonight. Her bag was already packed and everything was ready to go. She couldn't stay.

Almost 15 strangers had seen her pull a lightsaber and if Cel knew one thing it was that anything regarding jedi traveled fast. She felt a little guilty leaving without saying anything but she didn't want tonight to be sorrowful. Cel made sure to talk to as many people as possible,giving out thanks and trying to remember everyone's faces.

They had all been so kind to her when she first arrived,and had asked for nothing in return. She was going to miss it here,but what was done was done and she didn't regret it. Would do it again in a heartbeat if it meant saving lives. As the night started winding down and coming to a close she slipped away to go retrieve her bag and start walking.

As she rounded the tree where she had placed it she came face to face with River, who was leaning against it causally like she hadn't been waiting for Cel. 

"So,were you just going leave without saying goodbye",she said sounding hurt.

Cel let out a slow breath before turning back to the hall. "I didn't want everyone to be sad tonight,they deserve this happiness". 

River frowned, "They also deserve a goodbye",Cel just gave her a look. River pushed her lips together in a tight grimace before sighing and saying,"Are you sure you have to go? We'd all keep your secret you know".

Cel shook her head,"It's not you guys I'm worried about,its the others. All it takes is one drunk conversation in the Center, then it'll spread like wildfire. I don't want it coming down on you guys. If I leave rumors of a jedi hiding out here will leave with me". 

River nodded sadly,"Well we will be sad to see you go. I wouldn't be surprised if Simone hobbled her way to the Center to kick you ass for just leaving,but this is your choice so I'll respect that".

After a moment she walked forward and clasped Cel's arms,"Until our paths cross again".

Cel gave her a sad smile,"Until our paths cross again". She picked the bag up and after giving River one last hug, she start down the road.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Din found himself walking down a familiar path as he retraced his steps through the vendor lined street,they would be leaving today and he only needed stock up on a few more thing.

The kid had been in a bad mood since yesterday which meant Din was in a bad mood which meant people kept their distance,fine by him it was easier to make his way through the crowd.

He felt bad with how he had treated Celeste yesterday, he had just gotten so worked up. The more they walked the more he had convinced himself that she was gonna take the kid,she had even asked him what was wrong and he brushed her off and ignored her. But once they got back to the village and he had seen her playing with the kid he stopped being angry and had just gotten sad. Would it be such a bad life here?

The kid would be taken care of,and Celeste could clearly fend for herself as well as the kid. Once the cart arrived he started loading onto it,as he packed the last of his things she had approached him.

He wasn't sure what to expect. Her telling him that the kid was exceptionally powerful and needed to stay with her maybe. But she just gave him to Din and told the kid to look out for him. Then looked up at him and told him to take care before grinning and telling him to not die in Twi'lek.

He was surprised she knew it but returned the farewell to her and she gave him one of her dazzling smiles. He wanted to ask her to come with them,but as he looked around the village he thought why would she give this up to go traveling to maker knows where with him. He just nodded one last time and climbed onto the cart watching her until they were out of sight.

He regretted not asking her to come along,the kid had been a little nightmare since then but Din could understand. He was in a bad mood too and while he told himself it was because of the kid,deep down he knew the real reason.

Din was just finished buying some ammo when he felt something tugging on his sleeve,he look down at the kid who looked happier then he had all morning and started babbling at him. Din looked around confused, thinking that maybe he had seen a toy he wanted, when he saw her.

There was a lot of people in the crowning the street, but her white hair made her stand out. Celeste was talking to one of the vendors,buying food it looked like,and Din felt his breath catch at the sight of her.

She finished with the vendor and started moving down the street to the port,after a moment of hesitation he followed wondering what she was doing. She had a bag slung over her shoulder and was buying ration bars and other nonperishables so she was clearly planning on a trip.

As she walked through the port she was looking over the difference ships before stopping by a bigger scrap carrier and started walking towards it. Din quickly caught up with her. 

"You're leaving?",he asked.

Celeste jumped whirling around,her free hand going to her blaster before she saw it was just him and relaxed a little. "Oh its you,I thought you would have been off planet by now".

Din shook his head,"Wanted the kid to rest up first",said green terror was already out of his seat and waddling up to Celeste all to happily.

She laughed before scoping him up,"Well look at that,I told you we'd be seeing eachother again",he just giggled up at her,gently reaching up to touch her face.

Din felt his heart soften at the sight before he repeated the question,"So,are you leaving?" 

She nodded,"Word travels fast when it comes to jedi,its not safe here anymore",she gave a little shrug,"So I was hoping to find some transport".

Din shifted from foot to foot before saying,"You could",he cleared his throat and tried again,"Theres room on my ship for one more,if you wanted to come".

She looked up at him,surprised,"Well I wouldn't want to impose". 

He shook his head,"You wouldn't, we'd.. the kid misses you and I have room". She looked at him for a moment before looking back down at the kid,a smile slowly stretched across her face. She nodded,looked back up at Din and said,"Yeah,that would be perfect".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Sahak Chir_ =Avoid death,typically a sarcastic farwell.
> 
> _Pika_ =Beloved, or one you hold close to your heart


	4. Armor,or lack thereof

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I'm putting more research into this fic then I ever did for any school paper. Also can you tell I'm not very good at naming chapters. Something a bit sweeter for this one,hope you all enjoy:)

Cel could hardly believe her luck,not only had mando and the kid still been on the planet but they had run into eachother and he had invited her to come along. She was still half convinced it was all some dream,but as he brought her back to his ship, _The Razor Crest_ ,she ran her hand along a very real wall.

He lead her to a small cot tucked away beneath the cockpit and she could sense he was a little embarrassed with how small it was,but Cel knew that conditions could be cramped aboard a ship so she made sure to tell him it was perfect. He just nodded but she could feel his relief.

As she started putting her stuff away she felt a, by now, very familiar presence and looking down she saw that she had a tiny green helper. The child was looking at one of her more colorful cloaks with wide eyes. Cel smiled,picking him up and putting him on the cot.

She starting telling him about all her stuff,where she had got it from and how long she had it. She wasn't terribly surprised when he focused in on the saber, no doubt feeling the crystal within.

She let him play with it a moment before picking it up and telling him,"This is a lightsaber, now that the empire is gone you'll get to build your own once you're old enough".

He stared up at her intently, as if he understood ever word perfectly. "This saber isn't mine,it belonged to my _numa_ ,but she is one with the force now". 

Seven years and it still hurt to talk about. Cel felt her eyes burn and cleared her throat.

"Maybe I'll go with you and build my own too",she said jokingly,but he just kept staring at her sadly before standing up and reaching out to touch her cheek.

She felt a wave of calm and realized he was projecting. It warmed her,knowing he was trying to make her feel better and she was surprised he had caught on so fast.

"Quite the strong one aren't you".

Cel wondered if she should bring up training the little one to mando but she didn't want to overstep any boundaries. It was his kid after all,and she was already grateful he had brought her along. She figured if it was something he wanted to bring up he would and instead focused on putting the rest of her things away.

Once that was done she grabbed the little one and climbed up the ladder into the cockpit. Mando was already inside getting everything ready so she headed over to the other chair and saw what looked like a makeshift child seat on the floor next to it.

Well at least the kid was safe.

Settling on the chair and having to keep a laugh down at the thought of mando trying to build a baby seat Cel felt that familiar excitement rising in her. Didn't matter how many times she had gone through take off it was still something she looked forward to.

Mando looked over his shoulder,"You ready?",she nodded and held the child closer. With a nod mando pushed the main throttle forward and they started ascending.

As they started breaking through Helia's atmosphere Cel found that she was going to miss this place,but as they shot out to the stars she knew she wasn't going to miss it that much. With mando at the controls and the child dozing in her lap Cel was more then excited for what was to come.

Turns out what was to come was bounty hunting,well more specifically mando had bounty hunting Cel took care of the child. She didn't mind of course,her days spent looking after and training him.

She had brought the subject of training up after a few days of being board out of her mind. Turns out there wasn't a whole lot to do aboard this ship and when you're use to working six to eight hours a day you go stir crazy pretty fast. She tried to be as tactful as possible, but he had seemed relieved that she had brought it up,telling her he had no problem with her teaching the child. 

He was powerful,but not very cooperative. That was okay with Cel though,she had turned it into a game. Placing a toy between him and her then she would slowly pull the toy to herself and then would push it back the the middle. He caught on pretty quickly,although he wouldn't return the toy to the middle. He would just pull it to him then pick it up and hug it,but that was fine he just needed to learn the basics.

The first time he had managed to pull the toy all the way from Cel to himself she had swept him up in a hug and showered him in kisses until he was squealing with laughter. He was catching on fast,very fast and she couldn't have been more proud.

Mando had also told her that he had healed someone, but force healing had never been Cel's strongest subject and she wasn't really sure where to start on that so they just stuck to moving things.

She was also debating on teaching him how to project, more in the event of an emergency then anything. If he could reach out for Cel it would make it easier to find him should they get separated. Something she didn't really think would happen,but in the end she figured teaching the child how to find her would at least give them a bit of a safety net should something happen.

Plus she needed to teach him how _not_ to project. Pushing emotion and memories onto someone,especially someone who wasn't force sensitive, could be very damaging and that was something he needed to be taught to be careful with.

All in all it was a pretty uneventful two weeks. Mando would pick up a puck and take them to whatever planet it lead him to. Cel would stay on the ship with the kid,teaching him whatever lesson she had planned that day. So yeah not the most exciting two weeks but Cel had figured that wasn't something to be upset about. Better it was quite then dodging blaster fire everywhere they went.

The same routine went down for this place. A beautiful,heavily forested planet she hadn't gotten the name of. After they landed by a medium sized town mando made sure he had everything he needed,made sure that Cel had her comm on,and gently ran a finger over the child's head before saying he'd be back soon and disappearing into the city.

They had all eaten already so Cel and the child sat and played with his toys for a while,after about a half an hour she suddenly got a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. Cel froze, then slowly reached into the area around them seeing if anyone was trying to sneak up on them. Sensing no one she tried to brush it off as something she ate but the feeling only grew,after another twenty minutes or so Cel knew something was wrong.

She sat in her meditative position and pushed out further going into the town,and almost got swept away in a wave of panic. Centering herself she tried to find mando through it all and after a bit a searching she sensed his life force near the middle of town.

He felt calm as usual but beneath it she could feel his panic rising.

Stretching out a bit more she picked up several other life forces around him in verifying stays of anger,determination and even glee.

Pushing herself on to her feet she grabbed the child,who had been watching her with concern, and brought him over to the locker. Placing him inside she pushed the importance of him staying here and staying quiet which he obviously understood as he sat down.

She handed him a toy and said,"Don't worry _pika_ ,I just need to go help your _kora_. We'll both be back soon,I promise",placing a kiss on his head she closed the door.

Turning she hit the button to open the ramp and grabbed her blaster and the saber,it had saved their hide last time so she was sure it couldn't hurt,and then bolted out the door to the town.

She flew past the many panicked people trying to run and find some place to hide. As she got closer to the center she started coming across bodies and heard blaster fire going off. Creeping into the square she ducked behind a food stall and slowly poked her head out to assess the situation.

Mando was pinned behind his own stall. There were seven people spread out through the square and any time he tried to poke his head out he was met with a round of blaster fire. There were also two people up on the roof aiming down sight at him.

Okay nine people. Cel could do this,no pressure,totally fine.

She figured she should take out the snipers first,luckily they were on the same roof so it was easy. She crept into the alley behind the house and lept onto the roof, landing soundlessly behind them. She thought for a moment trying to figure out how to do this,she needed them both down at once and silently or she would lose the element of surprise.

Cel gripped the saber and grimaced. 

Decapitation.

Not her ideal way to kill someone but it was necessary. Taking a deep breath she ignited the saber, pulled them close,and swiped in one swift move. The heads fell,then the bodies but Cel was already moving to the edge.

Peaking up over it she looked down and cursed. More reinforcements had arrived at least 15 men in the square now and they were moving in on mando. 

Kriff _kriff_.

This was bad,Cel shifted her eyes to one of the snipers but dismissed it. To slow,to noisy.

She needed to take down as many as possible at once. Cel searched the bodies for explosives of any kind but came up empty. Dragging her fingers through her hair she felt her frustration build. She took a few deep breaths and tried to calm down,if she got frustrated she was going to make mistakes

Think,what would help right now. 

She didn't have any explosives. Mando probably did but he was pinned so that wouldn't help. But if she could distract them he might be able to get a few off. Her eyes shifted to the sniper again,but no that wouldn't work they would all dive for cover the second they heard it go off and she needed them to stay out in the open. Plus then she would give up her position,then her _and_ mando would be pinned.

Cel suddenly got an idea,grabbing the saber and holding it up she weighed her options. This was either gonna go really well or really poorly,but with no time to come up with a better idea she focused her mind,jumped from the roof,landed with a roll,ignited the saber and yelled,"HEY".

It worked,all of them turning to face her but freezing at the sight of the lightsaber. She heard four shots go off in rapid section and four of them dropped. Cel pushed, sending three of them into the nearest wall with a sickening crack.

The rest tried to shoot at her but she deflected and managed to hit another one. She heard the roar of mando's flamethrower and the screams of two more going down. The rest tried to scurry off behind different stalls,Cel grabbed one with the force and mando shot him.

Twirling the saber she lept and landed behind another one getting him in the back. Two more shots of mando's blaster,two more fell. Cel rounded a stall where the final one had hid behind,but mando held up a hand and she stopped.

He moved around the edge and pulled a pair of cuffs out snapping them onto the blubbering mess of a man,who must have been the bounty,then they started back to the ship. Cel felt a lot of emotions coming from mando,annoyance, anger,but most of all fear.

She wondered, not for the first time,what was going on in his head,but he gave her nothing. 

Not even a thank you which was a little rude in her opinion.

Sure,she wasn't _supposed_ to go out and get him. He had told her that if something happened to him on a job to take the ship and leave. But she was pretty sure he had also said to do that only if he was dead, which he hadn't been when Cel came to help him.

As they walked up the ramp mando threw the guy in carbon and then walked right in Cel's space looming over her. He didn't have a lot of hight over her,but almost six feet of metal staring down at anyone would make you feel small.

But Cel refused to back down straightening her spine and glaring up into the visor where she knew his eyes were. If he had a problem he could tell like a functioning adult not just stare like she could read his mind.

"You need armor",he said after a minute and she blinked,surprised. 

That's... not what she had been expecting him to say,but looking down at her very much not blaster proof shirt and pants she knew he had a point,"It didn't really pose an issue before now",she said.

He let out a little huff, then grabbed her upper arm and gently lowered his helmet to rest against her forehead. 

She felt a bit of color rush to her cheeks,this was new.

He certainly hadn't been cold to her these past two week,but he had kept his distance. After a moment he murmured a quiet,"Thank you", then turned and headed up to the cockpit leaving Cel with a smile on her lips and warm feeling building in her chest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Din should probably know by now that if a job seems like it was gonna be easy, it wouldn't be. It had been a simple bail jumper,but the amount he was getting for the job should have tipped him off that something wasn't quite right.

Instead Din had accepted and after walking into the town the bounty was hiding in and being meet with about thirty blasters aimed at his chest,he really regretted not giving it more thought. He'd fought pretty well in his opinion, taking out about twenty of them before they got him pinned behind a stall.

Din knew the beskar was strong,but all it took was one lucky,or for him unlucky,hit between the plates. As he sat there weighing his options and trying to figure out his next move he heard more boots on the ground. Reinforcements,great. He hovered at the corner of the stall as he heard them close in,getting ready to pop out and take down as many as he could.

Then he heard someone yell,and he wasn't one for missed opportunities so he shot around the corner and took down four. Looking around to see who his savior was Din was shocked to see Celeste with her lightsaber. Watching as she threw out her hand and three more went flying back,slamming into the wall.

They got rid of the rest fairly quickly, Din would have been impressed if not for the fact that she came running into battle without any armor. All it would have taken was one unlucky hit and that would have been it,and that _terrified_ him.

They silently walked back to the ship and Din felt angry with himself. He hadn't gotten her any armor,she stayed on the ship most the time so he had barely given it any thought. Once he cashed in this bounty he would fix that.

He was still upset at her for coming after him,that wasn't the deal. If he went down out there she was supposed to take the ship and the kid and hightail it off whatever planet they were on.

Once the bounty was frozen he had walked over and stared her down,not sure if he wanted to chew her out or hug her and she had just stared right back,hands on her hips,eyes narrowing. He hadn't done either of those,instead he told her she needed armor. She looked surprised then looked down as if she had forgotten she wasn't wearing any.

When she had made the comment about not needing it before it pulled a little laugh from him,and like it all came crashing down at once he got the overwhelming urge to hold her. Reminding himself that she was right here safe and alive, and blessedly she had let him. Then he pulled away,said his thanks,and got them off that rock.

Now he was walking down the street a hefty sum of credits heavier with a new bounty to track,but first things first,armor. Celeste had said she would need something light. She relied on speed in battle,anything to heavy might get her killed and Din had agreed.

As he swept through the different stall he grew frustrated. He was looking for a very specific type of material that was light as cloth,but it could withstand the average blaster. It would be expensive,but Din knew it would be worth it. Just as he was about to give up he saw it,on the last stall on the street,having got what he came for he made his way back.

Celeste was sitting on the ramp with the kid, levitating the silver ball he liked so much up into the air then slowly bringing it back,which he was going crazy over. She smiled as he approached and asked,"You ready?"

Din shifted nervously before handing her the package.

She looked down in surprise before slowly reaching for it,"What's this?",she said opening it. He watch as her eyes widened, looking up at him in alarm she said,"I can't accept this. Mando this must have cost you a fortune"

He told her,"No you helped catch the bounty, this is your half".

She gave him a doubtful look before saying, "This only cost you half?",he nodded.

It had cost him more then half,but she didn't need to know that. 

She still looked a little unsure but after a moment she slowly nodded and said,"Okay,this is- Its perfect mando, _arni'soyacho_ ",looking up at him with a sparkle in her eye and that warm smile on her lips. He nodded before heading back inside,bending down to swipe a finger over his kids ear.

Walking to the cockpit he tossed a look over his shoulder and saw Celeste still standing there. Running here fingers over the armor like he had just given her the highest quality beskar,her smile as bright as the sun overhead. As he kept moving towards the cockpit he found himself thinking that he would never grow tired of that smile,even if he saw it every day for the rest of his life. He also ran into the wall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> But cryptic I hear you say,how did Celeste not accidentally kill the bounty  
> Answer:The force :D  
> But cryptic you say,that's not how the force works  
> Answer:That's how it works in this fic :D
> 
> _Kora_ =father  
>  _Arni'soyacho_ = thank you very much


	5. Old wounds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be a bit of a long one I kinda got carried away,but its finally Tragic Backstory time. As always I hope you enjoy :)

Cel slowly paced the length of the ship,rocking the little one in her arms. It was dark out and mando wasn't back yet.

It wasn't uncommon,he couldn't get the bounty in a day every time,but the child was fussy tonight. Usually mando would try to be back early enough to put him to bed,rocking him and telling him stories,but it would seem he was going to be a while this time.

She sighed, and looked down at him,"I know you want him back _pika_ , but it looks like he's not going to be back till tomorrow ",the child looked back up at her,his tiny lip trembling. Cel let out another sigh,he was normally pretty good if mando wasn't back by the end of the day but he must have been feeling extra clingy tonight.

Rocking him a bit longer she told him,"I know I'm not your _kora_ , but what if I told you a story. One my _numa_ use to tell me when I had trouble sleeping, would you like that?",he seemed to calm a bit at that and looked up at her expectedly. Taking a deep breath she started,

"Once upon a time, on a planet far away there lived a little Twi'lek boy and his mother. They didn't have much, but they were happy. The only thing that made the boy unhappy was that his mother had to work so hard, often coming home with her hand sore and raw. So in order to help his mother the boy came up with a plan.

He had heard that deep in the woods was a _tuka_ spring and if you could catch one of the them it would grant you a wish. So one morning he left very early, before his mother was awake, and started walking deeper, and deeper into the woods. He felt like he walked for hours before he finally found the spring, once he did he hid in the nearby bushes and waited.

Then from his hiding spot he saw a light floating right by the bush and just as it got close enough he jumped out,catching it in his hand. 

'Is it true that you can grant me a wish',he asked the _tuka_.

'Oh yes',it said,'You caught me fairly, so I will grant you one wish'.

The boy told it,'I wish for whatever treasure my mothers finds most precious to be delivered safely to our home,and I want it to stay safe for as long as she lives'.

'Oh is that all, yes I can grant that for you',it said happily, glowing more brightly for a moment it said,'It is done. Your wish has been granted '.

The boy thanked the _tuka_ before releasing it then started back home.

As he walk he couldn't help but wonder what he would find back home. A pile of fine _pampys_? A chest full of valuable materials? His excitement grew with each step until he was running,but as his home came into view he didn't see anything. He looked all around the house but he found nothing.

Turning he saw his mother coming up the path and as she saw him she ran and hugged him tightly,asking where he had been. He told her about the spring and the wish. 'But I see no treasure here,that _tuka_ must have tricked me',he said sadly.

His mother only laughed and pulling him close she told him,'My son, _jun jiljoo_ , you are my most precious treasure, and now I am assured you will be safe for as long as I live.'",as she finished the story she saw the child's sleepy eyes finally close.

Being as carefully as possible she placed him in the bassinet and tucked him in. Cel turned to retire to her own cot and nearly had a heart attack at the sight of mando leaning against the wall. "Sorry",he whispered while she tried get her breathing back under control. 

She glared up at him feeling his amusement.

"Did you get him?",she asked. He just held up a very mangled arm,she grimaced,"Ah,lovely well let's get out of here then".

He threw the arm in some kind of case and headed up the ladder with Cel right behind him.

While they blasted through hyperspace she asked,"What about _tuki_?". 

Mando actually turned his chair to stare at her.

"What?",she said defensively,"Oh I'm sorry do you have a name picked out then, other then kid, or child, or _womp rat_ ".

She glared at him for that last one. He turned back to face the window but she knew the bastard was grinning under his helmet. The first time he had called the child womp rat in front of Cel she had gasped, covered the child's ears,and told mando to not be such a _deesh nabrina_ which he had found hilarious, and made sure to call him womp rat in front of her as much as possible.

"I'll take your silence as a no",she said smugly.

"We're not calling the kid _tuki_ ",he said and Cel laughed.

Things had been different since the armor incident a week and a half ago, but a good different. 

She had explained to him how she knew he need help,and while Cel had been a bit nervous talking about the force he had seemed genuinely interested and had opened up to her a bit more.

Soon,little chats turned into her joining him up in the cockpit instead of him just disappearing up there once the kid was asleep while she sat on her cot and meditated.

They would talk for hours,or just sit in silence and enjoy each others company. 

On those nights,when it was just them and the stars Cel would gently rub the armor he had gotten her and wonder how she had ever seen him as something to be afraid of.

He cleared his throat,"There's some people we're going to be meeting up with when I drop the bounty off this time. Friends of mine".

"Aw, I didn't know you had friends mando",she teased,"How do you know them, more bounty hunters?"

After an awkward minute of silence he said, "Yeah, something like that".

Oh, now Cel was very interested in this story.

She settled into her seat and stared at the back of his head expectantly. After a few minutes of silence she heard him sigh then turn to face her again and told her everything 

From him first finding the child all the way to his battle with Moff gideon.

She knew bits and pieces,both from the childs memories and from mando's stories, but to hear it all laid out was incredible.

After he was done she just sat there taking it all in,"Wow,that's. Just wow. I can't believe you survived all that". 

He let out a little huff,"Yeah, me either".

They sat for a moment. Letting out a yawn Cel realized how long they had talked so she stood up and stretched.

"Well its sounds like the two of you had quite the adventure",reaching out she gently squeezed his arm saying,"And hey for what it's worth, I'm really glad you two made it out okay".

He stared up at her,unreadable through the helmet but she could feel his gratitude. Giving him one last smile she climbed down into her cot and was asleep within minutes.

Cel woke up to a tiny weight by her side. Carefully rolling over she came face to face with the little one who immediately brightened and started babbling at her excitedly as she sleepily nodded along.

Hearing mando call down that they were gonna be landing soon she grabbed him and climbed back up to get into the seat. After they had landed mando grabbed the tracking fobs and they headed out.

Cel guessed it was about midday on this planet,a dry,desert like one,and feeling eyes on them she kept the bassinet between mando and herself. They walked into a smaller cantina and were met by two people,an older looking man and a younger woman with a tattoo that marked her as an ex-rebel. 

They must be Greef and Cara.

"Mando!",Greef called in greeting,"And baby! And you must be Celeste",he said holding out a hand towards her. The surprise must have shown on her face because he laughed and,"Don't worry, I only know you from mando. He's told us so much about you". 

She felt a flare of embarrassment from said man.

"Well only the good things I hope,"she joked. 

He laughed again and nodded,"Of course, but you must be starving come let's eat."

As they all sat down Cara leaned over and said,"Well it's nice to finally meet in person, I have to say I was starting to think you were just a figment of mando's imagination".

Cel laughed,"No I can a assure you I'm a very real person."

Cara smirked before reaching out and rubbing the child's ear and said,"Nice to see you again kid",which had him cooing.

They sat and talked for about an hour before Greef had to leave to go deal with some guild business, but he told them they had a room free of charge if they wanted to rest up a bit and they could all meet back up for dinner.

After saying their goodbyes to him Cara lead them to the room and said her own farewell, winking at mando. Cel wondered what that was all about, but figuring it wasn't her business she just went into the room and looked around.

It was nice, a decent sized fresher attached to the main room which held a chair, a table, and single large bed. As mando made his way inside Cel frowned in confusion. 

She had been expecting a them to have different rooms,or at least a joint room. There were two of them after all.

Why give them one room with only one bed? Maybe it was the only one left? Greef had given it to them for free so she didn't want to complain and seem ungrateful.

Letting out a sigh she turned to mando,"Well,looks like I'm sleeping on the crest tonight"Cel said mournfully. She had been really looking forward to sleeping on a real bed.

Mando shook his head,"You can take the bed, I'll take the crest".

She narrowed her eyes,"You've been pushing yourself these last few bounty's, you deserve the bed".

Mando walked a bit closer and said,"And you've been sleeping on a cot about as comfortable as a pile of rocks the past three weeks without complaint."

They stared each other down for a few tense minutes before she felt a flicker of nervousness from him and he shifted from foot to foot. 

"Well its a big enough bed that we could both have it."

Cel looked it back over, it was pretty big and she really didn't want to have to sleep on the cot again. Plus as long as mando was okay with it she really didn't mind sharing. There was only one problem.

She looked back to him,"I'm sure it wouldn't be very comfortable sleeping with your helmet on". 

He shrugged,"Not as uncomfortable as you you might think, plus it's just for one night."

Looking back over the bed and heaving out a sigh Cel decided she was to tired to fight him on this,if he said it was okay she would take his word for it.

"Okay we'll share, but I call dibs on the shower first". 

He let out a little laugh, "Deal."

Grabbing some fresh clothes she headed inside the fresher and cranked the water as hot as it could go. Standing under the spray she felt the tension drain from her muscles and let out a soft sigh of relief.

The water pressure aboard the Crest was abysmal,and the hottest it got was warm on a good day so this felt heavenly.

After she was done washing up she just stood there for a few minutes longer enjoying it before reluctantly turning it off,wanting to save at least some hot water for mando. After toweling off and getting dressed she went back into the room,but stopped and leaned against the doorframe just watching the scene in front of her.

Mando was sitting on the chair with the child on his lap taking apart his gun and explaining all the different pieces to him. The child would occasionally grab a piece and just hold it,staring as if it was the most fascinating thing in the universe before giving it back. 

Cel found herself smiling, it all feeling incredibly domestic.

Pushing off the doorframe and walking fully into the room to put her dirty clothes away she felt mando's eyes following her. Turning to look at him she arched an eyebrow, 

"What is it",she asked.

"Was the water warm enough for you",he said,sounding amused.

Cel looked down at her red flushed skin before clicking her tongue and saying, "See if I save you any hot water next time".

He huffed ou a laugh.

Putting his gun back together and the child on the bed he grabbed his own clothes,disappearing into the fresher.

She scoped up the child and said,"What do you think,should we practice some more?",he grinned up at her and she took that as a yes.

Placing him on the floor across from her,she put a toy in between them. Rolling her shoulder and concentrating she started lifting the toy up into the air before lowering it back down,doing it a few times until she thought he got the idea. When she gestured for him to try he lifted his tiny hand and narrowed his eyes,and after a moment the toy shakily lifted a few inches off the ground before dropping.

Cel smiled, "That was very good _pika_ ,do you want to try again?" 

They kept at it for a while and he got better and better,she was watching him closely to make sure he wasn't overdoing it when she heard the fresher door open. Turning her head she was going to call mando over to watch when she felt blood rush to her face.

Digging around in his bag was a very shirtless mandolarian.

Cel stared at the scarred, golden skin before snapping her head forward and holding herself rigid until she heard him go back inside,the door clicking shut behind him. Letting out a deep breath she stared at the wall for a moment.

Oh, _oh no_.

No no, she could handle this. It was totally fine,it was just....cabin fever, yeah. They had been traveling to together for a while now,feelings were bound to pop up. It was fine.

Sure he was attractive, and kind, and impossibly gently when he wanted to be. And maybe her eyes had been lingering on him recently, but it didn't mean anything.

She stared at the wall a moment longer before softly muttering," _Szu'tak_ ". 

Dragging her fingers through her hair she let out a slow breath and looked back down at the child, who was staring at her with concern.

Clearing her throat she said,"Sorry _pika_ , we can keep going if you want to."

By the time mando came out of the fresher Cel had composed herself.

The child was done training and was entertaining himself with the toy while she was sitting on the bed watching. 

Before mando got very far there was a knock on the door. Opening it revealed Cara was on the other side.

"Greef wants to know if you're interested in a job. Its a lot of money, some rich client wants some bodyguard or something. He wants to meet up in the cantina so we can go over it."

Mando tilted his head before looking back at Cel, but she already had the child in the bassinet and was ready to go. 

Back in the cantina again Greef told them about this job. There was a shipment of valuable materials leaving the city tomorrow and its owner wanted to hire on some extra muscle. He was also willing to pay fifty thousand credits per person.

Cel felt her eyebrows go up. Fifty thousand wouldn't make you rich but it wasn't something to scoff at. 

"He's looking for three people. Cara has already agreed and if you agree I'll only have to find one other person",Greef was saying.

"I'll go. Having an extra fifty thousand laying around wouldn't hurt",Cel said. She felt a bit of unease from mando and gently elbowed his side. "It's just a little escort gig. I'm not gonna say no to some easy credits."

Mando gave his little huff, but nodded, "Looks like we have a team".

Greef grinned,"Wonderful,I'll make sure to let the client know I've found enough people, but for now I did offer you dinner."

It was nice. The food was good, the company was better.

Cel found herself on her fourth cup of wine listening intently as Cara told a story about how she and ten others had snuck right past a group of scout troopers without them noticing. 

"Honestly I don't even know how they got employed by the empire, they never even did anything ".

Cel nodded," _Boc'ara_ the lot of them my _numa_ would say",she said then took another sip of wine

"Oh you have a sister?"

Cel froze and felt mando tense next to her.

Cara continued, " _Numa_ its twi'lek for sister yeah? I don't speak much but I know a few words" 

Cel swallowed thickly, "Uh. Yeah I had a sister. She's..gone now", she said, staring down at her plate suddenly not hungry anymore.

"Oh,I'm so sorry",Cara said and Cel could feel waves of guilt coming off her.

Offering a weak smile Cel said,"Its okay,you didn't know." 

Deciding she was done for the night she excused herself and trying to lighten the mood again she turned to mando saying,"You want me to take _tuki_ back to the room or are you gonna take him?".

He seemed to relax a little and said,"You can leave him, I'll bring the womp rat in a few minutes".

Cel narrowed her eyes before turning to the child and saying,"He doesn't mean that _pika_. He's just jealous that you like me better." 

Hearing a gasp from Greef and Cara laugh into her drink she smiled. Bidding them all goodnight she went back to their room.

As her head hit the pillow her mind was filled with thoughts from the past, but the wine had her asleep in minutes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Din let out a slow breath after Celeste left. Cara was staring into her drink with a frown so he leaned over and said,"Its really not your fault. I didn't even know. I knew she lost someone but I wasn't sure who." 

She still looked guilty but nodded slowly.

Turning to Greef he said,"Anything else we need to know about tomorrow ". 

He shook his head,"Just meet at the city entrance like we discussed"

Din nodded. "Well, I think it time we all got a little shuteye for tomorrow, goodnight",he said standing up and heading out hearing a quiet 'goodnight 'from the both of them.

Back in the room he entered as quietly as he could and saw Celeste was already asleep. The kid didn't seem far behind.

Din just rocked him for a bit before placing him back inside and tucking him in. Stripping off the armor and the gloves he placed them in a pile by his bag before crawling into the other side of the bed. He settled in and found himself watching Celeste's back rise and fall until he felt himself drift off too.

The dream he was having was odd. Normally if Din dreamed it was either of the day his parents died or it was a memory of his time with the clan,but this was different.

He was slowly walking through the abandoned halls of a huge building he didn't recognize with no idea where he was going,then he heard a voice and started towards it. After lot of twists and turns he found himself in the biggest library he'd ever seen. 

Realizing the voice was closer he walked to it until he rounded a corner and saw a red Twi'lek woman sitting in a chair with a little girl in her lap.

A little girl with short white hair.

Din's eyes widened and he moved closer to them, but they didn't seem to notice him. The woman was reading a story to the girl, a story he recognized as the one Cel had told the kid. 

"His mother only laughed and pulling him close she told him,'My son, _jun jiljoo_ ,you are my most precious treasure,and now I am assured you will be safe for as long as I live.'".

The woman finished the story and asked the girl,"You ready for bed yet or one more story?". 

The girl looked up, "One more,please".

The woman nodded flipping the page and starting a new one. But Din couldn't hear what she was saying anymore.

The edges of his vision grew hazy and suddenly he was falling, waking up on the bed.

He sat there unmoving,trying to figure out what just happened when he heard Celeste taking deep shakey breaths. 

Looking over at her he saw she wasn't laying down anymore. She was sitting on the edge of the bed with her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands.

After a moment she got up, grabbed a cloak and quietly left the room.

Din was torn. A part of him wanted to give her space but the other part said she was clearly upset and he should go comfort her. After a moment of debate he got up and followed. 

Seeing the edge of the cloak going around a corner he went that way,following her until she climbed a staircase leading to the top of one of the roofs.

He slowly walked up after Celeste trying to make as much noise as possible so he wouldn't startle her. 

She was sitting crossed legged on the roof staring out over the city and didn't acknowledge Din as sat next to her.

After a few minutes he heard her softly say,"Seems I indulged in a bit to much wine. I projected my memory on to you. I'm so, so sorry" 

He shifted a bit closer and said,"Its okay,you didn't mean to." A few minutes later and he said,"I'm probably the last person you'd want to talk about all this,but I'm here if you need to."

Celeste let out a shakey breath and after a beat of silence she asked him,"How much do you know about what happened to the jedi".

"Just that they were wiped out at the end of the clone wars."Din heard her talk a deep breath.

She began telling him,"I was very young when the temple was attacked, about five. I don't remember much just that my-well she was just Ezal to me then. Ezal and I were in the archives room when it happened. I had been having trouble sleeping the past few nights so she would take me to the archives to read until I was asleep.

I remember her suddenly getting this pained look on her face before she grabbed me and started running, telling me that something was wrong and I needed to stay very quiet or bad people were going to find us. I remember being outside of the temple, going down into the streets below and she got us passage on a scrap carrier off world.

We bounced around a lot, never staying on the same ship more then a few years. Ezal took whatever odd jobs she could. She was twenty when her entire world was ripped out from under her, had to do whatever she could to get credits, and had to take care of a kid, all while staying under the empire's radar. I still have no idea how she did it, but she did.

She taught me control, how to hide myself, and how to wield a saber. Things weren't perfect, but that was okay. Once I got old enough to start helping we made a decent amount. For almost twenty years that's how we survived,taking low risk jobs and being cautious.

Then one day Ezal got sick, really sick. It starting getting better for a little while. Then it got worse. Then she was gone. She was gone and it didn't matter that I was a twenty three year old woman, suddenly I was a terrified little kid again with no idea what to do.

In the end I stayed on that ship, the crew had been nice enough and its not like I had work lined up. Then two years later we got the news. The empire had fallen and I was free, but I didn't know where to go. I couldn't go back to the temple and I didn't know any other jedi I could meet up with, so I just stayed with the ship for another year.

When we arrived on Helia I guess I was just sick of it all. The traveling, the constant reminders that she was gone so I stayed there. I didn't have a plan, I just found the nearest bar and tried to drink myself into a coma. That's how I met River. She found me, heard enough of my story to feel bad for my sorry ass and dragged me back to the village.

After she let me sober up for a few days she told me I could either go back and try to drink myself to death again or I could find something new to live for like Ezal would have wanted. So I learned how to farm, helped clear out some raiders, and fixed up a house. And well you know the rest from there".

She gave him a shakey smile, but he could see the pain in her eyes. Din rested a hand on her shoulder pulling her close, she tensed a moment before letting him gently pull her to his chest. He felt her shoulders start to shake and could feel wetness soaking his shirt so he just sat and held her, rubbing circles into her back until she calmed a little.

She pulled back a little, sniffling. Wiping her face with the cloak she said,"Sorry about your shirt." 

He shook his head,"Don't worry about it." Din looked over the city before turning back to Celeste and telling her ,"I lost my parents during the clone wars, they gave up their lives to protect me. I was saved by mandolarians so thats what I became. It was good, until the purge. I lost a lot of people I cared about. Now it's just me and the kid. Well now it's me, you, and the kid."

Celeste eyes stared watering again, but she angrily scrubbed at them. "I'm so sorry, about everything. What a _Szu'tak_ hand the universe decided to deal us."

Din huffed. He thought about everything that had happened to him, all that he had lost and all that he had gained. Would he have preferred things go differently? Maybe. But there was no point in lingering on what could have been.

This was how things were now, no way to change that.

Bringing his attention back to Celeste he saw that she was staring out over the city, looking lost in thought. He grabbed her shoulder and turned her to face him then gently rested his head against hers.

Color flooded her cheeks and she seemed a bit unsure of what to do, but she didn't seem opposed.

Feeling incredibly bold he said,"Can't be all bad. I got the kid, and you. And you have us."

Her face got even redder, but after a moment of staring up at him in shock a smile swept across her face. Leaning against him and resting her hands on his forearms she gently murmured,"No, it's not all bad."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Tuka_ = spirit  
>  _Pampys_ = jewls  
>  _Jun jiljoo_ = my gem  
>  _Tuki_ = green  
>  _Deesh_ = rotten  
>  _Nabrina_ = a beast of burden  
>  _Szu'tak_ = shit  
>  _Boc'ara_ = idiots,or a more literal translation,dumb as rocks  
> 


	6. The job

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took me a million years to write and I felt like I hit a roadblock every five minutes,but its finally done. :D And I'd like to clarify something about Celeste that I wasn't really able to bring up in any chapter. Unless she's actively reaching for a person in the force she'll only feel very,very strong surface emotions. As always I hope you enjoy :)

Cel woke up slowly,feeling far to warm and comfortable to rejoin the waking world just yet. She let out a hum and rubbed her face into her pillow before cracking an eye open and realizing that it was not a pillow she was on.

Her head was resting on mando's chest, his arm was wrapped around her waist.

She sat there confused, her foggy brain trying to figure out what was going on when last night rushed back to her.

Having a little to much to drink, accidentally projecting her memory to him, the rooftop confessions, and then coming back down.

But they definitely hadn't fallen asleep like this last night. They had been on opposite sides of the bed. They must have moved closer to each other during the night.

Feeling heat rush to her cheek she tried to think of the best way to wiggle out of this without waking him.

It wasn't unpleasant, she was very comfortable, but she was just unsure if it would make him uncomfortable or not. He wasn't the most physically affectionate person.

Sure he had held her last night and did that forehead touch thing, but that had been on his terms. And a forehead touch was a far cry from...this.

She was about to say _kunta_ it and just roll off the bed and make a mad dash for the bathroom, but before she could she heard a giggle and felt the child tugging on the blankets as he climbed up on to the bed.

Cel smiled and lifted her head off mando's chest to scoot back a bit, giving the child room to sit between them.

He happily waddled over and sat there staring at her with a grin looking incredibly proud of himself. Cel stared rubbing his ear, her smile still firmly in place.

"Good morning",a voice beneath her said.

Cel tensed but stayed were she was and mumbled ,"Morning",back.

Mando reached out a hand stroking the child's other ear who looked very happy. 

Cel held herself still. He didn't seem upset at their position, and she knew that if he were he would have told her.

Slowly relaxing she let her head rest on his chest once again and continued stroking the child. Letting out a yawn he laid down between them, Cel's heart swelling at the sight.

Mando placed his hand on his stomach and she found herself staring at it. She had seen him without gloves before but this felt much more intimate.

Slowly, so he could pull away if he didn't want her to, she reached for his hand and pulled it closer, running her fingers across all the scars and callouses. 

They were the hands of someone who had been fighting for themselves their whole life.

Thinking back on what he had told her the night before she grew sad.

He was all alone when he had joined the mandolarians and then years later once he had built a new life he had everything taken from him a second time. 

Cel could only imagine how that felt. She had been too young to really miss the order, and at least she had her _numa_ , for as long as she had her.

She felt herself turn red at what he had said last night. About how they all had each other now.

With the child sleeping peacefully between them she found that she didn't mind the idea of that. All of them, together.

Mando stayed silent as she examined his hand,but she could feel him rubbing circles on her hip.

A knocking at the door startled them both, mando tightening his grip for a moment before carefully slipping out from under her and answering it.

Cara raised an eyebrow at the sight of an armorless mando but all she said was,"Sorry to interrupt but we need to leave earlier then we thought,meet up at the entrance in twenty." 

He nodded at her then closed the door.

Cel rubbed the top of the child's head and considered telling Greef that she wouldn't be able to help him after all due to the fact that she had an adorable child asleep on her. But with how much they were going to be making on this job she figured they could find some nice planet to bunker down on for a few weeks at least, and then they could have all the lazy mornings they wanted then.

Mando already had his armor back on and was packing a bag so she got up,put the child in his bassinet,and went to get herself. 

They were going to be gone a total of four days,two to get there and two to come back. Cel would be lying if she said she didn't feel at least a little nervous about bringing the child along,but it wasn't like they had anyone to watch him.

Greef had a guild to run and Cara was coming with them, at the end of the day she told herself that as long as the child stayed close to them it would all be fine.

After all it was just an escort gig through the desert, what could go wrong?

As they approached the gate she saw a cart with a large covered container on it and four other people sitting around it.

One of which was Cara who nodded at them before climbing onto her mount.

The others were a female Czerialan, a male Britarro, and a male Twi'lek. Who looked a little to young in Cel's opinion.

She walked up to her own mount,a large lizard like creature, but before she climbed up she felt mando gently tug on her arm. 

Turning her to face him and rested his helmet against her head just like last night. And just like last night Cel blushed but gave him a smile and leaned into it.

He pulled away after a moment and gave her a nod then went to his own mount the closed bassinet floating after him. They had agreed that it was better to keep it closed and would only open it to feed him.

She felt bad but the more people saw the child the more questions would pop up. 

Besides it was just for the trip there. They could make their own way back, without the prying eyes.

She still felt bad,but they didn't have a lot of options so with a heavy sigh she climbed on her own mount and they were off.

It was only after they had been walking for awhile that Cel realized she had forgotten the saber in their room,but looking around at all the unfamiliar faces she wondered if that was maybe for the best.

The empire may be dismantled but there were still plenty of people who would love to get their hands on a jedi so the less people who knew about her the better. 

Besides she couldn't think of good excuse to go back so she just mentally shrugged and pressed on.

About two hours into their journey Cel had company. The Twi'lek,who introduced himself as Pan'Vacuy,had moved closer to her and was attempting to spark up a conversation 

"Shouldn't you be focusing",she asked.

He gestured to the desert around them,"Focusing on what exactly, theres nothing but _bril_ and _alask_."

She rolled her eyes,"Just because you can't see anything doesn't mean theres not a threat, you shouldn't be so _bondara_ when we don't even know what's out there." 

He smiled and got closer saying,"Oh you speak twi'lek? How much? I could teach you some more if you wanted."

Pan said it in a tone he probably thought sounded seductive,but Cel bit back a laugh as she fixed him with a flat look.

"I know enough _tinari'sai_ ,and even if you were older I'm not interested",her gaze drifting over mando,who was riding towards the front.

Pan pulled a face before saying,"I'm not that young." 

She gave him doubtful look,"Have you even had your _tsu'kagrei_ yet?"

He made an offened noise and said,"Of course I have! I told you I'm not that young."

Cel doubted that but kept her comments to herself.

"Enough about me. Your not interested,huh?",Pan said with a grin,pointedly looking at mando,"He your boyfriend?"

Keeping her expression schooled she said," _Koa_ ".

It was Pan's turn to look doubtful,but it quickly morphed into a more serious look as he leaned in closer and ask,"Is he your _ka're_?" 

She glared and snapped," _Koa_. He's a good friend. That's all."

He held his hands up defensively,"Hey I just wanted to know".

She huffed and look ahead her eyes drifting back over to mando.

Truthfully she wasn't quite sure where their relationship stood.

Two weeks ago she would have said they were just friends with confidence, but now well she wasn't so sure.

Thinking back about the armor, the forehead touches,and the,for lack of a better word,cuddling they had been doing just a few hours ago she definitely wasn't so sure anymore.

"I'm sorry,I honestly just wanted to know."

Cel sighed,cursing her soft heart,and told him,"You're forgive, _tinari'sai_ ".

He gave her a annoyed look,"I'm going to be hearing that for the rest of the trip,aren't I."

Giving him a overly bright smile she said,"Yup".

It was actually pretty nice talking with Pan. She learned he had been in mercenary work for about four years and just joined the guild last year. 

Cel ended up telling him how she met and started traveling with mando, leaving out the whole jedi thing of course, and next thing she knew it was time to stop for the day.

They settled in a semicircles of rocks and Cel was about to hop off her mount when Pan offered her his hand. 

"A fine woman like you shouldn't have to dismounted by herself."

She rolled her eyes,but accepted it smiling. Another thing she had learned about Pan was that he was a shameless flirt but hardly ment it.

"I bet you say that to all the girls",she teased.

He gasped dramatically,"I'll have you know I've only used that line twice and it worked like a charm."

Cel laughed,and found herself very glad to have met him.

Pan's eyes sudden shifted behind her and he grinned a bit wider before giving her a wink. 

"As much as I would like to continue this conversation I have things to unpack and a fire to start,best of luck",then turned and walked off.

Cel's brow furrowed in confusion wondering what that last part was about when a voice ask,"Making friends?"

She turned and smiled at mando saying,"Friend is a strong word,more like a pleasant companion."

He hummed, tilting his head and watching Pan walk off.

Cel asked,"Who's taking first watch?" 

He gestured towards the Birrtaro. "You'll be after Cara so she'll wake you once it's your turn,then I'll be after you",he said and then continued to stand there,staring at her.

He clearly wanted to say something so she arched an eyebrow at him and waited. After a moment of staring he just turned and walked back to his mount.

Now Cel was really confused,reaching out she felt unease from him and a bit of nervousness. 

Well she couldn't read his mind if he wanted to talk to her about something he would have to,you know actually talk to her. So with a shrug she started unpacking her own stuff and getting ready for the night.

With the Birrtaro up on the rocks as lookout the others all sat around the fire. Cel was between Cara and mando, Pan was to the left of Cara, and the Czerialan was to the left of him. 

She wasn't very talkative,sitting as far from the rest of them as possible and cleaning her blaster so they left her alone.

Pan was telling the rest of them about a bounty that had taken him three weeks to complete do to her planet hopping so often.

"And of course by the time I get to this place she's long gone and honestly at this point I'm considering just throwing in the towel,when I see it. She left her journal behind,a journal filled with stuff like which planets are safe and which ones she's already been to. So I managed to figure out where she was going next and I finally caught her. Went on a weeks long vacation after that."

Cel nodded at him sympathetically while feeding the child.

"Mando spent the whole day tracking a guy down,only find his bones and had to wrestle what was left of his arm away from a..what was it again mando?" 

He tilted his head up,"I'm not sure,but it had a lot of teeth and wasn't happy."

Pan grinned,"The life of a bounty hunter eh",mando nodded in agreement.

Pan had been surprisingly casual about the child and other then calling him cute hadn't really asked about him,which Cel was grateful for. 

Cara looked up into the sky then laid down on her bed roll saying,"It's getting late, we should get as much sleep as we can".

After rocking the bassinet until the child was asleep Cel settled in. With the sound of creatures chirping in the night and the fire crackling in the background she drifted off peacefully.

Feeling someone grab her shoulder Cel was wide awake in seconds before realizing it was just Cara. 

Rubbing her eyes she went to sit up only to feel a grip tighten around her waist. Looking down she followed a beskar clad arm up to mando.

He had somehow moved much closer to her,although as she looked at both of their now abandoned bed rolls she supposed a more accurate description would be that they both moved closer to each other.

A wave of amusement came from Cara and Cel felt her face burn. 

She was able to slowly shimmy out from beneath his arm and mumbled a thanks to her before retreating up onto the rocks.

Scanning the desert around her for threats she told herself it didn't mean anything, it was just cold of course they would move closer to each other.

Staring out over the desert she repeated that to herself, ignoring how warm his arm had been and how safe she had felt.

Two uneventful hours later and it was mando's turn to watch.

Climbing down she walked over and gently shook his shoulder while whispering his name. It took a few tries but she got him up eventually.

Nodding at him before climbing back into her bed roll and doing her best to fall asleep.

Instead she found herself watching mando perched high up on the rocks,sitting so still she could have thought he was a statue. 

Cel found her mind wandering to her conversation with Pan earlier and felt her face heat up. She couldn't believe he thought that they were together like that.

Maybe he had seen mando rest his head against her. She supposed from an outsider's perspective that could look pretty affectionate.

Well, it was an affectionate gesture but it wasn't a romantic thing. She saw him do it with the child all the time.

Her mind betrayed her dragging that morning to her attention. She let out a slow breath.

That was a bit harder to explain away. She let herself drift back to the moment, how warm and comfortable she had been.

Shaking her head she tried to quiet all the thoughts in bouncing around in her mind and squeezed her eyes shut, attempting to sleep.

Eventually she must have because next thing she knew she was being shaken awake by mando and they were ready to pack up and go.

The first few hours passed uneventfully. Until they started moving through a canyon. 

Cel's skin started prickling,a feeling of being watch sweeping over her and she knew she wasn't the only one who felt it.

Pan,who had been talking to her, suddenly grew quiet and pulled back to his position, eyes sweeping over the many caves in the walls.

Cel nervously looked at the bassinet before reaching into the area around them,but other then everyone else she felt nothing.

Not even animals.

Something was definitely wrong.

Keeping eyes peeled and hands by their blaster they slowly pressed on.

They been traveling for the better part of an hour through the canyon and nothing had happened. 

There was no longer than feeling on being watched so Cel hoped that whoever had been eyeing them had decided it wasn't worth the trouble and had left.

Unfortunately that wasn't the case.

About two hundred feet from the exit Cara's mount suddenly gave a shriek,rearing back before toppling over.

From somewhere in front of them an electrical blast shot out, frying the droid.

With no idea where the shooters were everyone dove for cover behind the cart.

Just as Cel managed to jump off her own mount it roared before swaying and toppling over,a cylindrical metal dart sticking out of its neck.

She dashed and slid behind the cart, pulling out her blaster.

Mando had already placed the bassinet on the cart and strapped it in.

"How many are we dealing with",someone asked.

Cel peaked out over the top but didn't see anyone and just barely managed to duck back under cover as a dart shot past where her head had just been.

"I don't know, but they have a sniper and we need to get this cart moving again sooner rather then later",she got a few grunts of acknowledgement.

"I can rewire the droid and get it moving again, if I can get some cover",Pan said.

She nodded at him and reached out through the force again feeling unease flood her at just how many there were. She should have kept checking the area instead of falling into a false sense of security.

She called out,"Four up in that cave on the left,a whole lot more heading towards us from right on the top,and one at the end of the canyon. That ones probably the sniper but they're to far away for a blaster to hit so mando you'll need to get that one. I say we take out the four first,help mando lay some cover fire towards the end of the canyon,and hope Pan can get this thing running in time".

She got some confused looks tossed at her, no doubt wondering how she knew all that, but Cara already had her blaster out and mando was getting his rifle ready so the others followed suit.

Turning to Pan she said,"Once we have these guys distracted you'll need to get this cart going at full speed, if we're still stuck down here when reinforcements arrive we're done."

He nodded,"I can do that."

Pulling out her own blaster and taking a deep breath Cel counted backwards from three then nodded. 

They started shooting into the cave as she heard mando fire down the canyon behind her.

Pan rushed forward dropping into a crouch behind the droid and started fiddling with the wires.

Whoever these people were they clearly hadn't been expecting the group to find them so quickly as Cel felt two life forces immediately snuff out from the cave.

The other two started shooting back,unfortunately hitting the Birrarto who didn't get back up. 

She didn't have time to feel bad,they need to focus on the battle.

After what felt like hours,but was probably just a few minutes, she heard Pan yell,"Everyone in. Once I pull this lever we're out of here".

Everyone piled into the back of the cart and then it shot off.

Cel rocked backwards from the force and felt a spike of panic from mando before he grabbed her arm and pulled her in more securely.

She tossed him a grateful smile before forcing herself to focus, they weren't out of the woods yet.

They were about halfway to the exit when the shooting started, the ones up top having reached the edge.

Cel felt her blood run cold as they came into view. 

Pirates, they had to be.

A ship her and her _numa_ had been on was boarded by them once. They only took the valuables and left, but she had heard enough horror stories to know that they were capable of far worse.

As everyone scrambled for cover on the front of the shipment Cel heard a cry from someone and saw the Czerialan hanging off the right side of the cart,a smoking wound on her shoulder. 

Moving before she could even think about it Cel fired a few shots off and walked towards her.

Reaching down and grabbing her non injured shoulder Cel managed to pull her back on the cart just as they shot out of the canyon into the open desert. 

Before she time to feel relieved she felt a sharp pain in her neck and heard mando's gun go off.

Reaching up and swiping a hand over the spot that hurt she came away with a dart. 

She stared at it as her vision grew fuzzy and felt herself swaying before toppling over the side of the cart, and blacked out just before hitting the sand below.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been a pretty good last few days for Din, of course it all went to shit. He had woke up yesterday with a warm weight on his chest and thought he might still be dreaming for a moment.

Celeste looked so peaceful with her head resting on Din's chest and he found himself just watching her. He wasn't sure how long he sat there until she hummed and rubbed her face against him before going very still.

Din's heart started picking up and he was sure she heard it, but a small giggle drew his attention to the kid who happily climbed up the bed. 

She had moved over a little and reached out to rub his ear. Din managed to get out a good morning,which she jumped a little at but returned.

After the kid settled she had slowly grabbed his hand and started running her fingers along them, leaving a trail of electricity behind. 

He found himself more relaxed then he'd been in a long time and thinking that he wouldn't mind this every morning.

After meeting up with the others at the cart Din had hesitated before pressing his head against hers. She had just given him that smile of hers,leaning into it and Din's heart had soared.

He found himself looking back at her during their trip,noting that the Twi'lek had move much closer and was talking to her.

She didn't seem upset or annoyed, just amused so Din let it be.

After they stopped for the night he was walking up to her when the Twi'lek looked at him before giving Celeste a wink and walking off.

A pleasant companion she had called him and Din had grown uneasy.

It was stupid of him, she clearly wasn't intrested, but Din wondered if she understood what he had been offering last night.

He wasn't good with words, but between telling her they would all have each other and stepping up the physical affection he hopped she would understand.

He wanted to clarify. Just ask her outright, but he had chickened out last minute. If she wasn't on the same ship he'd understand, but he would need some time to drown his sorrows.

He would ask her when they got back.

And now they were flying through the canyon,dodging blaster fire from pirates,and trying to stay alive. 

Din leaned around the left side of the container and aimed down the sight of his rifle when he heard someone cry out, but he needed to focus and take out the sniper.

He had found them laying on a ridge by the exit they just passed out of. Lining the shot up, he saw them pull the trigger just seconds before he got them. 

It wasn't until he heard Cara scream out for Celeste he realized the sniper had hit their mark.

Standing up he saw her laying motionless on the sand as the pirates closed in.

He immediately got ready to jump only to feel someone grab his arm and he turned around to see it was Cara. 

"Its suicide trying to take them all by yourself. We can come up with a plan and come back for her."

Din tugged out of her grip and started foward again only to be yanked to the floor by her.

"Din",she said in a sorrowful tone,"We will get her back. But you jump off this cart now it's a death sentence."

Din sat there trembling in rage as he saw them grab Celeste and start to carry her off. Cara was right of course,but that didn't mean he couldn't still be pissed.

They didn't stop until they were sure they were safe,but once they did Din hauled himself out of the cart and walked away before he started pacing trying to figure out what to do. 

They had no way to track Celeste and no idea where to even begin looking. Even if they knew where she was it would take time to come up with a plan, time they might not have.

As Din continued pacing he got lost in his mind and guilt started to claw at his throat 

It was his fault.

He hadn't been watching her back, had been to concerned with getting the sniper. If he had just paid more attention this would have never happened.

Cara approach slowly,the other two were sitting back by the cart watching him warily,"Din, we'll find her and we'll get her back." 

He felt his rage boil over,"How are we supposed to find her? She's gone,and every second we sit here she's getting farther away. There's only two of us, by the time we found her and came up with a plan she'll be shipped off world. So tell me how exactly are we getting her back."

Din's voice had gotten louder and he stalked closer until he was right in front of her.

Hearing a soft cooing noise snapped him out of his rage and he looked down as the kid walked up to him, gently resting his hands against Din's leg.

Feeling all the energy drain from him he took a few steps back and collapsed onto his knees.

The kid walked up to him again and reached up to Din's face. Lifting the kid up to his helmet he rested a tiny hand where Din's cheek would have been and Din immediately felt a wave of calm sweep through him. 

Letting out a shakey breath he looked up as Cara crouched next to them.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I couldn't get to her in time. I didn't even realize what was happening until she was going over the edge."

Din shook his head,"No I'm sorry, I didn't-It wasn't your fault. I don't want you to blame yourself. I just have no idea what to do."

Cara looked over the desert around them for a moment before looking back at Din. 

"We'll think of something. I mean, two against thirty isn't the worst odds I've had."

"Three",a voice called from behind her.

They both turned to see the Czerialan walking towards them with a determined look on her face.

"Your friend. She fell because of me. I got hit and she didn't hesitate to save me. I owe her my life, so I will be coming with you."

"Well _kunta_ ,way to put pressure on a guy"the Twi'lek,Pan,stepped forward,"I don't owe her a life debt or anything, but she's a good person, a very good person. And that's rare in this line of work, so I'd like to help if I can. Plus pirates are, not great company",he said rubbing his wrist.

Din let out a slow breath. Four against thirty still wasn't great odds,but better then two. 

Cara looked them both over and nodded approvingly,"The more the better. We don't need to kill them all we just need to grab Celeste and go. Problem is I'm still not sure how we'll find her."

Pan looked back over to the droid,"I might be able to jury rig the droid into a tracker, but it's gonna take me a while and no guarantee it'll work."

Din felt a hand gently tap on his helmet, the kid looked up in concern but once he got Din's attention he smiled.

Then he closed his eyes and outstretched his hand like when he used the force, but nothing happened. The kid opened his eyes again and reached out past Din into the desert, almost as if pointing.

Din didn't understand, there was nothing of interest behind him.

The Czerialan said,"Your little one, he is...special, yes? I was told stories by those before me. How those that we're special could feel an invisible energy around us, and could manipulate it to their advantage. Perhaps he could find her?" Din was hesitant but then remembered something Celeste had told him.

Projecting she had called it,the ability to sense those around you through the force, and an easy way for other force users to find each other. As long as she was alive they could find their way to her. Din couldn't help but laugh, bringing his kid up to his helmet he said,"Come on _ner ad'ika_. We're bringing your _buir_ home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twi'lek  
>  _Bril_ =Wind  
>  _Alask_ =Sand  
>  _Bondara_ =Casual, carefree  
>  _Tinari'sai_ = Youth  
>  _Tsu'kagrei_ =A ceremony in which a juvenile twi'lek transforms into an adult,usually at the age of 18  
>  _Koa_ =No  
>  _Ka're_ =Someone who is more than a boyfriend but not a husband  
>  _Kunta_ =Fuck
> 
> Mando'a  
>  _Ner ad'ika_ =My son, my little one  
>  _Buir_ =Mother


	7. Escape. Rescue. It's all the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Past me, a fool, writing chapter five: Oh geez this is getting kinda long.  
> 
> 
> Present me writing this monster of a chapter: I have too many words in my brain and if I don't get them out I will die.
> 
> I debated breaking this into two chapters but by the time I realized I should do that it was written out and I didn't want to have to type this all out again so yeah, y'all get this absolutely unit. Have fun and as always I hope you enjoy :)

Cel woke up feeling like her head was stuffed with cotton, her surroundings slowly coming into focus. She was laying on the floor of a cage in some kind of underground room. 

Rolling onto her stomach she went to push herself up only to hiss as a sharp pain clawed at her right side. Moving more carefully, she sat up and pulled her shirt up to find a mess of ugly looking bruises all down her side. She also noticed her armor was gone.

Taking a few slow,shallow breaths she carefully pushed down on her ribs checking what the damage was. A few agonizing seconds later she dropped her shirt and scooted until her back was against the wall.

Her ribs were only bruised. Maybe one or two cracked,but none broken.

That was good.

She could work with bruised and could tolerate cracked,but broken would have been a big problem. It must have happened when she fell over the side of the cart.

Cel pushed her lips into a frown, she hoped the others made it out okay.

Looking around some more she saw other cages in the room. Some of them had large dangerous looking creatures, others had barely visible bodies tucked away into the far corners but one stuck out to her.

In the cage to the right of hers was a red Twi'lek staring at her with concern.

Cel had to blink a few times to make sure she wasn't hallucinating her _numa_ from a mix of pain and whatever sedatives she had been shot with.

"Are you alright,"the Twi'lek asked,"Those bruises look bad."

Cel blinked sluggishly before nodding,"Yeah don't worry,they look worse then they feel."

The Twi'lek didn't look convinced but nodded back anyways. 

"What's your name,if you don't mind me asking,"Cel said.

"Enom'kaku,and who are you?"

"I'm Celeste,and it seems we're both in quite the situation. Do you know where we are and how long I've been out?"

Enom shook her head,"I don't know where exactly we are,but I know we're at their base. As for how long you've been out I'm not sure either, but they dragged you in here about two hours ago, I think. The only way I can really tell time is when they bring food."

Cel looked around the windowless room and nodded.

Turning her attention back to Enom she realized just how young the Twi'lek was. She looked maybe seventeen, and that was being generous.

She wondered if the girl hated her red skin as much as her _numa_ had, always saying how she wished she had any other color. Red was the rarest color among the Twi'leks and unfortunately attracted the most attention from slavers.

It was supposedly a sign of luck, meeting a red Twi'lek. Cel had the overwhelming urge to laugh. Stuck in a cage with a set of busted ribs and no idea how to get out, lucky her.

Cel felt her short term mirth dissipate. She had a sinking feeling she knew what was gonna happen to Enom, to both of them. Slavery was a profitable line of work, and there was nothing pirates loved more then profit.

Enom suddenly snapped her head up and managed to get to the back of her cell a few seconds before the door flew open, bouncing off the wall.

Four Weequay's entered the room talking to each other, but they hushed as the sight of Cel slumped against the wall.

One of them was shorter with a rifle slung against his back, the other one was taller with a scar across his cheek, another was wearing a jumpsuit and some goggles, and the last one had a set of much nicer clothes and the others were listening to him, probably the leader.

"So it seems you are awake. Quite the determined one I must say, but no matter. We're not going to hurt you, just give you a little check up so behave yourself."

As leader was talking to her in a thick accent the other three had opened the cell door and slowly approached her.

Shorter one grabbed her arm, taller one grabbed her other arm and they pulled her to the center of the cell keeping her on her knees. Ignoring her ribs flaring in pain Cel grit her teeth and forced herself to stay slack, plastering a scared look on her face. Let them think she was to scared to fight.

Goggles,who she was assuming was a medic of some kind,slowly walked around her poking and prodding. Pulling up her shirt after she flinched at a poke to the ribs he clicked his tongue at the sight of the bruises before lowering it and continuing. Coming to a stop in front of her he looked her hair over,dragging his fingers through it, and looked at her eyes.

Goggles must have found what he was looking for because he nodded at the other two, who dropped her arms, and they all walked out.

"She has some bruising on her side, but it's not going to kill her,"goggles was telling leader,"Buyer was right, she's got some Echani blood in her. Not a lot but enough to retain the white hair and some silver in her eyes. It shouldn't matter how much blood she has, she's the one he requested no doubt."

Leader nodded looking satisfied,"Well at least today wasn't a complete loss,"leader looked back at Cel and grinned,"My dear, your companions may have gotten away with the shipment, but we have someone willing to pay quite a lot for you." 

Cel kept the scared look on her face.

Leader scoffed,"Not sure what makes you special, plenty of pretty faces in the galaxy, but I don't get paid to ask questions."

Giving her one final grin he motioned to the others, all of them leaving the room.

Once it was closed Cel glared at the door. Pulling herself back to the wall she thought about what her next move was. She needed to get out of here,now. There was a good chance they would try to move her as soon as possible,and if they got her to this buyer she had a feeling it would be much harder to escape.

She had a few advantages. They obviously didn't know she was a jedi, and it seemed like they had bought her 'to scared to fight back' facade.

A mistake she would gladly use to her advantage.

Never underestimate your opponent, but get your opponent to underestimate you. That had been one of the first lessons Ezal had ever taught her.

 _Let them think you are weak_ she had said _let them think they have won and when they let their guard down, then you strike._

Cel took a shallow breath and let it out slowly grimacing, her side might be more of a problem then she thought.

"They're going to be moving us tomorrow. I overheard one of them talking about it."

Cel jumped before remembering Enom was in the room. She was up against the bars separating them with a disheartened look on her face.

Cel cursed. She couldn't leave Enom here, and had less then twenty four hours to come up with a plan. She had been hoping for a little more time.

It wasn't like they could just walk off the base and be home free,they had an endless stretch of sand between them and freedom. Even if they got out of the cages and this room, managed to steal some speeders, and got away unnoticed they were still maker knows how far from the nearest town.

If Cel didn't do this right they could end up dead. And if they did survive the pirates would know Cel was a jedi, then she'd really be screwed. 

So she had to get them both out of the cages, figure out where the nearest town was, and find a fast mode of transportation, all in under a day and without being discovered.

No pressure.

What would be helpful is if she could get one of the pirates down here alone. Then she could get them to tell her everything she needed, but she had no idea how to get one to come down here by himself.

Frustrated she started to drag her fingers through her hair only to freeze as she remembered something Enom had said.

Looking over at her Cel's heart ached. Her tear filled eyes were downcast and she was curled in on herself looking impossibly small. Cel got up slowly and walked over to her. 

"You said they bring food down here. When do they bring it and how many people come down?"

She sniffled softly,"Well, like I said it's hard to tell down here, but maybe in a few hours? And there's two that bring it."

Cel grinned,"I have an idea on how to get us out of here, but I'm going to need your help."

Enom looked up at her,wide eyes filling with hope. Briefly looking at the door with concern, her face shifted to a determined look and she squared her shoulder. Looking back at Cel and lowering her voice she asked,"What do you need me to do?"

Unlike Cel,Enom had been conscious when they brought her down here. She confirmed that they were in a small underground room beneath their base and that they were at the end of a very long hall, but she didn't know much beyond that.

That was fine, once Cel got one of the pirates under her control she could get him to tell her everything. While she wasn't thrilled with the idea of using the force in front of Enom she didn't have much choice.

Besides, Cel was a pretty good judge of character and she had a feeling that Enom wouldn't tell anyone. 

With nothing else to do but wait her and Enom started talking. Cel learned that Enom and her parents owned a bar in a town called Nix. She had been watching it when the piarates had rolled through Nix, apparently having been tipped off by someone that there was a red Twi'lek there.

"It's been three days. My _haoy_ and _korra_ must be worried sick,"Enom said,trying to keep her voice even.

Trying to lighten the mood a bit Cel told her about the child,leaving out anything force related of course. As she described his huge ears,the adorable noises he'd make,and the way his face would light up at the littlest things she saw Enom grow more relaxed,a smile stretching across her face.

"He sounds adorable. How long have you had him?" 

Cel shifted,"Well he's not really mine. I just sort of watch him for mando."

Seeing Enom frown in confusion she told her,"Mando,he's a mandolarian but I call him mando for short. Anyways, he's mando's child and he's had him a while. I'm not sure how long exactly, maybe a little over six months. But you wouldn't be able to tell. With how much he loves that child you'd think he's had him all his life."

Enom's eyes lit up,"You travel with a mandolarian? Oh how exciting! I don't know if I could ever do that though. I think I'd be to scared to even talk to one." 

Cel nodded in understanding,"I use to be scared of him, back when we first met. But once I got to know him better I found out he's actually a big softie."

Cel's voice grew soft as she said,"I've seen him slam people into a wall hard enough to knock them out on multiple occasions, but he holds his kid like he's made of glass and rocks him to sleep every night."

Grinning at Enom she told her,"But don't tell him I told you. He's got a reputation to uphold and all that".

Enom giggled and said,"Don't worry I won't. Oh but could you imagine,'Yes hello Mr. Mandolarian,Celeste told me all about how you're not actually that tough and how you rock your child to sleep every night,'I don't think that would go over well."

Cel laughed softly before flinching and holding her side. Enom stared at her with concern,"Are you sure you'll be okay?"

Taking a few slow breath Cel nodded,"I can wrap my side before we go, but there's not a whole lot I can do here. Once we reach the nearest town I can get it looked at properly and try to contact mando."

Enom looked like she wanted to say something, but just nodded. "And you're sure this plan will work? I'm still not entirely sure what it is you are going to do."

Cel shifted into a more comfortable position and said,"Yeah it'll work, probably. Just kept one of them distracted and I'll-Well you'll see."Enom frowned, but again she just nodded.

Some time later Cel heard two people loudly talking in the hallway outside, and sat up getting ready.

The door swung open to reveal short one and tall one again. Tall one was carrying two trays while short one was holding his rifle.

Enom played her part perfectly, leaning against the bars she pleaded,"Please, you have to let me go. I need to get the medicine back to my mother. I won't tell anyone where this place is, I swear. Just please let me go."

Tall one scoffed,"You got any idea how many times I heard that one. You could at least get a little creative if you're gonna beg for your freedom."

Cel zoned out, focusing on short one. Carefully wrapping the force around him, she focused on his mind. In a calm voice she told him,"Knock your friend unconscious."

Tall one looked at her in annoyance,"And why the hell would I do that? You two are a couple of strange one I'll give you that."

Cel kept her focus on the short one and told him again,"Knock your friend unconscious."

As tall one kept prattling on she saw short one's eyes glaze over before gripping his rifle and swinging it down on tall ones head, who dropped hard. Keeping her voice even she said,"Now unlock our cage doors." Which he compiled with after grabbing the keys off tall one. 

Cel had him sit across from her as Enom slowly walked out of her cage,staring at the bizarre scene in front of her.

"Where is the nearest town",Cel asked.

He stared at her with glassy eyes for a moment before saying,"About two hundred miles east".

Cel felt relieved. Two hundred was far better then she had thought it would be. 

"Where do you keep the speeders". 

Again he took a moment before answering,"In the shed by the gate, we have four"

Cel frowned. She hadn't seen any speeders when they attacked the shipment, but she had assumed that was because they were going for a stealthy approach. If they had so few they must be a much smaller group then she thought.

"How many people are here,"she asked.

"Twenty five,"he said.

Less then she thought, but more then enough to be a problem. Pushing her lips into a frown she realized they were on a time limit. The longer these two were gone the more attention it would bring so she decided they needed to start moving. 

"You're going to stay with us and help."

He nodded,"I'm going to stay with you and help."

Enom watched the whole thing warily,"What did you do to him."

"I'll tell you later right now we need to focus on escaping. Grab the tall ones Cape and wrap it around you. We need to be as covered as possible,"Cel told her.

After grabbing the blaster off tall one she looked for more clothes to hide them both, but there wasn't a lot. They would have to make do with what they had. Before they left though Cel remembered something.

"Where is my armor?"

Motioning to the door he said,"It's in storage. Fourth door on the left." She nodded and after checking to make sure no one was in the hallway they stepped out.

Walking up to the storage room she saw a keypad and told short one to open it. Once inside she found bandages, a few weapons, some more clothes, and most importantly her armor. After wrapping her side she grabbed her armor and with some careful maneuvering had it back on.

Digging through the clothes she managed to find two hooded cloaks and two scarves,which her and Enom put on.

Turning her attention to the weapons she wasn't as fortunate, only finding small blasters. She took one and handed it to Enom, who looked a little doubtful but grabbed it.

Cel told her,"Even if you aren't a crack shot it's good to have it on you." Feeling far less exposed due to the weapons and armor she told them both,"I'm going to poke my head up and see what's going on up there. You two stay at the bottom of the stairs,"they nodded. 

As they exited the room and started towards the stairs she felt unease start to creep up her spine, rolling her shoulders she tried her best to ignore it. 

They would be fine.

Approaching the stairs she could see faint light shining down them. Reaching through the force into the area around them she didn't feel anyone so after motioning to the other two to stay put she quietly climbed up hearing Enom whisper," _Ryma'allesh_." 

Poking her head up she saw that it was dusk and that they were directly in the center of a large circle of rocks, small watchtowers dotting the peaks.

Sweeping over the area she saw two buildings to her left, one with lights and a lot of loud yelling pouring out of it, and a small group of four people about half way between the building and the stairs.

Behind her was a large building and to the right she saw a small shed. Sitting almost directly in front of the stairs was a large metal gate with two watchtowers on either side.

There were a bunch of boxes and crates scattered throughout the circle, and closer inspection of the watchtowers showed that the only ones with people inside were the ones by the gate.

The one in the right was looking out towards the desert and the one in the left was facing the circle, although he seemed more concerned with cleaning his weapon then watching anything.

Cel climbed back down,"Well I have good news and bad news. Good news is that most of them seem it be hanging out in what I'm assuming is a bar. Bad news is we have a guarded metal gate between us and freedom."

Turning to short one she asked,"How do we open the gate."

He told her,"There's a lever to open it is in the watchtower on the left and Boss has a remote."

Cel let out a groan, of course it couldn't be easy.

She debated just saying _kunta_ it and leaving the bikes entirely, she could just hop the wall with Enom, but the two hundred miles between them and the nearest town stopped her.

Even if they managed to dig up some provisions to take with them all the pirates needed to do was catch up with them, which they easily could with the speeders.

And if she was being completely honest with herself, she wasn't sure it was a walk she could make. Her side felt a little better after wrapping it, but it still flared with pain occasionally.

"What are we going to do,"Enom asked. 

Cel stared pacing by the bottom of the stair and thinking.

She had a feeling the gate was gonna be pretty damn loud once they opened it so they would have to do that last minute. But they also needed the speeders ready to go which was definitely going to draw attention.

Her eyes flickered to short one and she grinned.

They just needed him to go relive the guard and be ready to pull the lever. The guard wouldn't notice anything wrong with him, and judging by his board attitude he wouldn't question it. Meanwhile her and Enom could sneak to the shed, and Cel could sabotage the other speeders so they couldn't follow. 

Turning back to them she said,"Okay here's the plan." 

Looking at short one she said,"You are going to go up into the left tower and tell the guard that you are relieving him for the night. I'm going to signal you once we're ready, when I do you open the gate."

He nodded and repeated it back to her.

"Enom, you and I are going to sneak to the shed. I can cause some distractions if we need them, but I think we'll be fine. We're going to each grab a speeder and make sure the other two won't work."

Enom nodded and smiled, looking hopeful.

Looking between them both Cel let out a slow breath,"Okay,let's do this". 

Short one climbed up and started towards the tower. Cel poked her head up, watching. The small group briefly glanced over at him, but didn't pay him much attention.

After climbing the staircase and reaching the top short one began speaking to the guard, and just as she predicted he was more then happy to leave, practically ran down the stairs and headed straight for the lit up building.

Cel let out a sigh of relief, step one down.

The group was watching the guard pass by them so with their attention temporarily elsewhere Cel and Enom started for the shed, shuffling and crouching behind crates. It felt like it took a life time, but they finally reached it. Cel could feel a strain from holding influence over short one for so long, but shook it off, they were almost out. She looked for the two speeders with the most fuel and pointed Enom to one, then ripped the fuel lines out of the other two. They straddled the bikes and, with a nod from Enom, Cel took a deep breath and whistled.

Hearing a loud creaking, they started up the bikes and shot out of the shed.

The group jumped up and cried out in alarm as her and Enom started flying to the gate. Cel pulled out her blasted and shot the right tower guard as he aimed his rifle at short one, unfortunately one of the ground guards got his shot off before Cel could get him.

Short one fell and the gate stopped, not quite opened enough.

Cel let out a string of swears.

She force pushed in the groups direction, sending all of them flying backwards. Bringing the bike to a stop just below the tower she motioned for Enom hide behind some crates before gathering her energy and jumping. She heard several of them swear loudly, but she was already up and pulling the lever.

As the gate lifted she turned to hop down only for it to stop. Grabbing and pulling the lever again it started lifting again.

Crouching down she cursed stupid pirates and their cheap manual levers and pulled out her blaster. She started firing down at the group, getting them to run for cover and keep their focus off Enom. 

After a moment the gate was open enough and she could see people coming out of the building with lights so she let go and jumped down, force pushing before she hit the sand.

Feeling more tired by the minute she hopped back on her bike and swung it around, trying to avoid blaster fire. Meeting back up with Enom the two headed to the gate, only for it to start creaking shut.

Cel snapped her head around to see leader at the front of the group holding a remote. Looking back at the gate she realized they weren't going to make it. Not both of them at least. Making a split second decision she whipped the bike around and sent it towards them.

Rolling off it she grit her teeth as a fresh wave of pain swept over her.

Clutch her side she turned and held out a hand towards the gate, digging her feet into the sand and holding it open. She saw Enom start to slow, a panicked look on her face, but Cel threw out her other hand pushing both the bike and her out gate. Dropping her hands once Enom was out, it slowly finished closing.

Cel panted, feeling like her side was on fire and tasting blood.

Turning to face the rest of the pirates, who were warily keeping their distance with blasters drawn, she felt a bit of satisfaction at the sight of at least five of them laying around a burning speeder.

Leader walked to the front of the group with his hands spread,"I must say I'm rather impressed. You've been holding out on us, jedi. I thought your kind was all gone, but it seems there will always be those who survive".

He motioned to the others and they slowly closed in. Cel snarled and raised her blaster making them pause.

"Now I've heard that the jedi were good, but surely you don't think you can get out of this. Put the blaster down nice and easy, no need for things to get anymore messy".

Cel's eyes flickered around the area try to find a way out, a crack in the rocks, something, but she didn't see anything. The only way out of the camp would be to jump, but there wasn't any point in doing that. All it would do would drain her even more, and she wouldn't even have the energy to run.

Looking around she tried desperately to come up with something, anything, but found nothing that would help her. With exhaustion creeping in and the pain in her side only getting worse Cel realized that for the first time in a very long time, she couldn't think of a way out of this.

"Shame we lost the red one, but a jedi will more then make up for that loss. Besides I'm sure we could always get her later."

Straightening her back she lifted the blaster and aimed it at leaders chest. The rest of them raised their blasters in response. She knew killing him wouldn't change anything, another one would just take his place, but if he was dead that would slow this whole operation down. It would give Enom more time to escape. 

Cel knew they would kill her as soon as she pulled the trigger, but she would rather die then go become some drug lords pet. It wasn't the greatest way to go out but she didn't have a lot of options.

She felt bad about leaving mando and the kid, but they would be fine. They had each other long before Cel had come into the picture.

Getting ready to pull the trigger she paused as she heard a very familiar rifle charging up.

She stared blankly and wondered if she was imagining it, before tipping her head back and laughing, ignoring how badly it hurt.

Giving leader a bloody grin Cel mockingly told him," _Ka'ta_ ". 

He had only a second to look confused before exploding into a pile of ash and smoke, causing the others to panic and scramble for cover as another shot charged up. Cel turned back to the gate feeling a burst of energy, and after a few seconds of concentrating jumped completely over.

Her landing wasn't the most graceful and if her ribs weren't broken by now that definitely did it, but she was out. Rolling onto her feet she started limping, not really sure were she was going just trying to move away.

After a moment she heard the sound of a speeder over the blaster fire, and a red Twi'lek came into view. Enom stopped the speeder and hopped off, running over to Cel with a scowl she helped her over to the bike.

"We were supposed to leave together,"she huffed out. Cel waved her hand,"Well sometimes plans don't go the way you think they will. It all worked out in the end."

Enom glared, a stern look on her face,"Only thanks to your friends. You're very lucky they were here already." When Cel flinched and stumbled her face softened a bit,"Nevermind. You are injured and I can yell at you properly once you feel better." 

Cel snorted,"Can't wait."

Making sure she was firmly on the bike Enom hopped on and stared left, following the circle.

Cel blinked a few time in surprise that the sight that greeted her. She had been expecting mando and Cara, not everyone from the group. Pan was sitting in the driver seat of the hovercar with the shipment still attached to the back. Climbing down from the rocks as the blaster fire got more aggressive was mando, Cara, and the Czerialan.

Pan gave her a grin and said,"Come on Celeste, you were supposed to wait. We had this nice escape all planned out, and you had to go and free yourself." 

Cel tossed a halfhearted salute,"I aim to please."

Mando paused once he hit the sand and stared at her. Cel felt a wave of relief so strong she swayed a little and her eyes misted over. 

She had no idea he had been so worried about her. He started towards her only to be pulled back by Cara with an apologetic look

"We need to get out of here first".

With a nod he looked her over once more before climbing into the cart and they were off.

Cel gripped Enom tighter and grunted as each bump jostled her side, finally coming to a stop some time later. Enom got off first and turned to help Cel who waved her off with a 'I'm fine'. Enom just gave her a 'I don't believe you but I'm not going to fight you on this' look.

Cel huffed out a laugh and saw mando walk up until he was only a few feet away. She could still feel immense relief coming from him and gave him a crooked smile.

"Well, what took you so long?",she teased.

He took a few more steps until he was right in front of her then reached forward and pulled her into a crushing hug. 

She could feel him trembling beneath her hands so ignoring her side screaming in protest she wrapped her arms around him and gently murmured,"Hey, hey. It's okay, I'm okay. A little bruised, but in one piece."

He let out a shakey breath but stayed quiet, just holding her. After a moment he pulled back just far enough to rest his head against hers and they stayed like that until they heard an excited squealing. 

He slowly pulled back and they both looked down at the child who was reaching up at Cel happily. Her smile faltered for a moment and she looked up at mando.

"Can you pick him up for me? I already know that if I try to bend with these ribs it's not gonna go well".

Mando nodded and picked up the child handing him to her.

"They hurt you,"he asked in a deceptively calm voice. She almost would have been fooled if she couldn't feel a growing sense of rage. 

Cel shook her head,"Happened when I fell out of the cart and got worse during the escape."

He made a small noise of acknowledge and stayed close. Turning her attention to the child she kissed his head and hugged him tightly. "I missed you _pika_ , so very much,"he cooed at her and placed his hand on her cheek. 

Hearing footsteps she looked up to see Cara and Pan walking closer. Cara gently tapped Cel's shoulder with her fist,"Glad to have you back. The little ones been cranky without you,"a grin sliding on her face she said,"Big ones been cranky too."

Pan nodded in agreement. Mando only huffed, still hovering at her injured side almost protectively. Still smiling Cel said,"Glad to be back. I have to say I wasn't expecting a rescue quite so fast, not that I'm complaining." 

Pan snorted,"You think that was fast? Mando wanted to storm the place guns blazing as soon as we found it. Cara managed to convince him that we needed to sit down and actually think of a plan."

Cel bit back a laugh knowing it would only agitate her ribs more. Looking at mando she said,"While I admire your enthusiasm, I also have no idea how you managed to survive for so long on your own. I don't think you have any impulse control."

He made a betrayed noise and said,"I have plenty of impulse control." Cel wordlessly looked down at the child then back up at him and raised an eyebrow. "Well I have it sometimes,"he said weakly.

Cel couldn't help but laugh at that and immediately got hit with the pain. 

Grabbing her side and letting out a slow breath she saw everyone staring at her with concern. Mando somehow was hovering closer, one hand outstretched ready to grab her if she fell.

She gave them a weak smile and said,"Its fine. Just some bruises, and maybe some cracked ribs." 

Cara stared at her in shock,"You've been just sitting here talking to us with cracked ribs? Why didn't you say anything? We need to get you back into town and patched up."

Pan nodded,"I'll get the hovercar ready. And see if I can find some painkillers." 

Cel felt mando gently rest a hand on her back at start to walk to the cart, but she said,"Wait",and turned around. Enom was sitting on the bike looking at the horizon, but got up and shyly came over when Cel called her.

"Everyone this is Enom, we were jail buddies. Enom, this is Cara, Pan, mando, and most importantly, _tuki_."

"We're not calling him that, stop telling everyone that's what his name is,"mando said sounding annoyed, but Cel could hear the smile in his voice. 

She just smiled at him innocently.

Enom's eyes shifted over mando nervously, but reached out and gently stroked the child's ear. Looking up at Cel she said,"You were right, he is the most adorable creature I've ever seen."

"I know right. The cutest little creature in the cosmos," Cel said kissing his head again. 

"You taking the bike or riding in the cart? And are you going to be in town for a bit? Not just gonna leave with out a goodbye, are you?"

She nodded,"I'm taking the bike, it will be useful when I head back. I just need to figure out where exactly we are before I can head home,"a teasing smile tugging at her lips she said,"And no I'm not gonna disappear, I still need to yell at you once you're better."

Cel grinned and said,"Sounds like a plan."

With Enom on the speeder and Pan driving the hovercar they set off to the town. 

Cel was laying in the cart arm to arm with mando and the child was sitting on her legs attempting to heal her. Cel pushed that it wasn't safe here and he could do it later. He wasn't happy about it but eventually he gave up and laid down to sleep.

Between the adrenaline wearing off and the painkilers Cel was having a hard time keeping her own eyes open. Trying to settle into a more comfortable position she felt Mando lifted his arm and gently wrapped it around her shoulder, resting her head against his chest. Cel smiled as she leaned against him, the cool beskar feeling like the most comfortable thing in the universe.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Din let out a slow breath and pulled Celeste closer. The past ten hours had been a nightmare, but she was here now. Alive and safe.

With the kid pointing them in the right direction, it had only taken them a few hours to find the hideout. The large circle of rocks had been crawling with guards and, yeah so what if he had wanted to just blow the whole place up then wipe the rest out with the blasters, it would have worked. 

Probably.

But Cara had pointed out that they didn't know where Celeste was and the last thing they needed to do was start throwing explosives into there randomly. 

Din had reluctantly agreed.

Instead they had he and Cara had snuck close enough to use his scope and listened in. Just as Din had been growing impatient he heard one of the pirates talking about the prisoners in the basement. They returned to the others and started coming up with a plan.

After it got dark he and Yané, the Czerialan, would sneak over the back of the rocks and slowly make their way to the stairs. There was plenty of cover to use, they just needed to keep quiet and stay cautious.

Meanwhile Cara and Pan would be sitting on an outcropping of rocks a few yards away keeping an eye on everything, ready to provide cover fire, or an escape route should things go bad.

With nothing to do but wait Din could hardly sit still, triple checking all his gear and trying to occupy the kid.

As the sun started dropping Cara waved him over and pointed out that almost all the pirates had entered one of the buildings. A lucky break for them, less guards would make it far easier to sneak in and out. However they never had a chance to execute their plan.

Once the sun dipped below the horizon Cara laughed, jumping down from the rock and walking up to the others with a grin.

"Looks like we're going to have to move things along, she's springing herself."

They had moved as close as their dared, still wary of raising any alarms. Then the yelling and blaster fire started and they drove right up to the side. Din had climbed up to the top of one of the rocks and watched the scene before him.

Celeste looked exhausted, swaying slightly on her feet and holding her side, but her eyes still burned with determination as she leveled her blaster at the surrounding pirates. One walked up front and started talking.

Hearing a speeder he turned as a hooded figure approached them. They seemed like they were about to go the other way, but tipped their head at the sight of Pan and came closer pulling the hood off. Din was surprised to see a red Twi'lek out here, but as she started talking to Pan he turned his attention back to the circle.

Grabbing his rifle and calmly aiming down sight he lined up the shot with the pirate Celeste was pointing her blaster at, hearing her laugh before he pulled the trigger. As he started charging up another shot he watched Celeste make an impossible leap up and over the gate. 

With her safe he, Cara, and Yané focused on laying cover fire so Pan could go get her. He heard the speeder start up and drive off, and was vaguely aware of Pan yelling that someone was gonna grab Celeste.

Unfortunately the pirates caught on to where they were pretty quickly and soon they had shots flying past their head so he needed to focus. Hearing the speeder coming back they all climbed down from the rocks.

Seeing her directly in front of him, it was like something clicked in his brain. Like he could finally let himself be relieved that she was out, she was safe. Not being able to hold her was almost painful, but Cara was right they needed to leave. 

Once he had been able to, he swore he would never let her go. As she and the others talked he just focused on her, her smile, the sound of her voice.

And after they had packed onto the cart and set off to the town, he pulled her close again and she had gladly let him. Cara watched him with a smirked, and Yané was focusing on her blaster.

Two hours of bumpy traveling later the town came onto view. Din scooped up the still sleeping kid and placed him back in the bassinet. As Pan pulled up to a medic Din hopped out and gently shook Celeste shoulder a few time, but she stayed sleeping. He hesitated before carefully picking Celeste up in a bridle carry and taking her inside. 

He was met with a kindly looking older woman who made her way over to him and said,"Oh dear, what happened to this one." 

"Her ribs, she hurt them pretty badly, but I'm not sure how badly. Can you look her over?"

"Well deary ribs are rather straightforward, best I can do is wrap them and give her something to ease the pain."

Din nodded gratefully and the old woman pointed him to a table,"You can set her there, then I'm going to have to ask you to leave so I can check her over." He shifted uneasily, not wanting to leave her, but the lady made a shooing motion,"I'm not sure how much I'm going to have to reveal and I can't have you standing around watching."

He nodded reluctantly and placed her on the table, giving her one last look before headed back outside. Cara was leaning against the cart waiting,"How is she?" 

"Not sure, the medic is looking her over right now."

"Well she's tough, I'm sure she'll be okay,"briefly looking over the others she said,"They wanna head out to the city to deliver this thing tomorrow. I take it you'll be staying here with the kid and Celeste?" Din tipped his head, then nodded. 

He had cracked ribs before, it didn't matter how many painkillers you were on, if you were still conscious you would feel them. Last thing Celeste needed was to be in a bumpy cart all day.

"I'll find us a room here and hopefully a smoother mode of transport, you'll be alright with the others?"

Cara nodded,"Of course. I'll see if I can 'sweet talk' the guard into giving me your guys cut and bring it back."

Din huffed out a laugh,"If anyone could it would be you." 

They both turned as Enom walked up to them nervously and asked,"Will Celeste be alright? I know she said it wasn't that bad but I don't believe her."

Before Din could speak Cara snorted,"I like you already. Verdicts still out, but I'm willing to bet she'll live." Enom shoulders relaxed a little, seeming relieved. Din was going to ask her where she planned on staying for the rest of the night, but old lady called him back into the clinic.

Walking back inside he saw her standing by a table grinding something up and she waved him over saying,"It's not the worse I've seen but she's going to have an unpleasant next few weeks. Most of the ribs where only bruised, but she has two cracked and one broken. No internal bleeding, thank the maker." Turning to face him she held out a small pouch,"This is an herbal painkiller, and it's very potent. Make sure you dont give her more then two doses a day, and she needs to be on heavy bedrest for at least two weeks." Din thanked and paid her.

Tucking the pouch in his bag and grabbing Celeste she walked with him to the door and waved goodbye before shuffling out of view.

Cara, Enom and Pan were talking about something, but they all turned as Din approached. "So, how bad is it,"Cara asked.

"You were right, she'll live. She's going to have to be on bedrest for awhile though,"he grimaced at the thought. 

Celeste had been practically bouncing off the walls the first few days they started traveling together and he quickly learned she wasn't the type to sit around doing nothing. It was going to be a nightmare trying to keep her in a bed. Pan pulled a sympathetic face as if reading his mind.

"Ugh, bedrest is the worst. I wish you the best of luck with that and try to not get to frustrated with her."

"Thanks for the pep talk, feel alot better about all this."

"I do what I can,"he said with a grin. Enom watched them with wide eyes, but she seemed much more relaxed around them. Din turned his attention to her.

"You know where you're staying tonight?"

"Yes. Cara was kind enough to pay for a room, thank you though."

Cara yawned,"Speaking of rooms, we passed an Inn on the way here, and this has been a very long day so I say we all turn in for the night." Din nodded and they all climbed into the cart once more.

Pan got his room first, then Yané, then Cara and Enom.  
Din was the last to rent a room, and as he opened the door he debated asking one of the others to switch with him. Staring at the single large mattress he weighed his opinions.

The single bed didn't bother him, but he knew it would be better if Celeste was on her own bed so she could be as comfortable as possible.

Pan and Yané had gotten their own rooms so they most likely also only had one bed. He wasn't sure if Cara had gotten a double or just got Enom her own room, but he figured it couldn't hurt to ask. Placing Celeste on the bed, Din was going to head out and find her when the kid started kicking up a fuss in his bassinet.

Popping it open Din picked him up and started rocking him saying,"I thought you were asleep already." The kid didn't seem intrested in what he had to say, reaching out for Celeste. Din brought him over and placed him next to her.

He placed his tiny hands on her side and closed his eyes. After a moment the kid pulled away and sat heavily, looking much more tired.

Din picked him up again and murmured,"Very good _mer ad'ika_ , I'm sure she'll feel much better in the morning,"looking at the bed for a moment he said,"Why don't you sleep on here with us. I'm sure she won't mind." The kid gave him a sleepy coo and reached for her again.

After carefully moving Celeste onto the left side of the bed he placed the kid next to her then stripped off the armor and gloves, and laid down. He and the kid were on her left side, but he was still cautious, keeping some distance between them.

Laying there with the kid between them and her steadily breathing he found himself truly relaxing for the first time since she had been taken. Gently reaching out, he took her hand and started to drift.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Haoy_ = Mother  
>  _Ryma'allesh_ = Mother give you safety. Mother refers to Ryma'at, the primary Twi'lek deity.  
>  _Ka'ta_ = Bye-bye


	8. How it ends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to have a longer note at the bottom but I just want to say thank you for reading, and as always, I hope you enjoy :)
> 
> Side note: I was digging around for mando'a insults and I came across the phrase _kaysh mirsh solus_ which translates to, his brain cell is lonely, and I was in tears for a good ten minutes. This has nothing to do with the story I just thought it was hilarious.

Cel floated at the edge of consciousness feeling exhaustion still tugging at her mind, but something was nagging at her, dragging her back to the waking world.

She shifted through her memories.

Getting captured, coming up with a plan, the almost failed escape, and falling asleep in the cart. Judging by the comfy mattress beneath her Cel had a feeling she wasn't on the cart anymore. Cracking an eye open she focused on the unfamiliar ceiling above her. 

Definitely not on the cart anymore.

Slipping her eye shut she stretched and felt a slight twinge from her side. Oh right, ribs. Opening her eyes she lifted her head to take a look at them, but stopped and stared at the sight before her.

Mando was to her left, laying on his side and facing her with just enough room between them for the child to fit. A feeling of deja vu swept through her and she wondered if this was a dream. A really, really nice dream. She didn't think it was, between the very real bed she was laying on and the slightly unpleasant feeling coming from her side Cel was pretty sure she was awake. 

Looking around the room she saw a single chair and a window, which showed that it was just barely light outside. Turning her attention back to the bed her foggy brain finally kick in and she realized they were all on the same one.

Well, she suppose mando had wanted them all in the same room, but wouldn't a double have made more sense? Maybe it was a money thing, cheaper to get a single then a double.

With a mental shrug Cel decided she would just ask mando when he woke up, for now she checked on her ribs.

Not wanted to disturb either of them she stayed silent and slowly started stretching her right arm, seeing how far she could go. Surprisingly she was able to fully extend it without to much complaint, only a slight ache. Her mouth tugged into a frown. She knew that it shouldn't hurt so little, not when she was pretty sure she had broken at least one or two ribs.

Her eyes drifted to the child and a smile spreading across her face. He must have healed her sometime last night. Not wanting to disturb him, but unable to resist she lightly ran a finger along his ear.

And nearly jumped out of her skin as mando asked,"How are you feeling?"

Placing a hand over her chest, she tried to slow her rapid heartrate.

Cel saw his shoulders shaking slightly and couldn't help but let out a little laugh as she playfully shoved him saying" _Kunta_ off. I know you do that on purpose."

"Nope. I just get lucky."

"Uh huh, sure. That's why you don't make any noise and just sit there waiting to strike."

He laughed at that, a deep genuine laugh that had a warm feeling spreading through her chest. Settling back into her pillow she heard him say,"But how are you, really?" 

"Well, in far less pain then I thought I would be. I take it I have the little one to thank for that?"

"Yeah. Barely got into the room before he was demanding to be let out and brought over to you."

Cel smiled, gently rubbing the top of his head,"No wonder he's still sleeping, must have taken a lot out of him."

A peaceful silence fell over the room and Cel felt her eyelids start drooping, but a question suddenly popped into her mind. 

"Oh hey, did they only have rooms with one bed left?"

Mando tensed and stared at her. Cel felt the easy atmosphere slowly getting replaced with something much more heavy.

Had she said something wrong? Did he think she was uncomfortable? Maybe it was the only one left, but he hadn't wanted to mention it?

She was about to tell him it was fine and that she honestly just wanted to know when he let out a deep sigh and asked,"A few nights ago on the roof. How much do you remember?"

Her brow furrowed in confusion, she didn't see what that had to do with anything. "Uhh, all of it? I mean I'm pretty sure. I wasn't even drunk so I dont know how I could have forgotten anything."

"So you remember what I said, about you, me, and the kid having each other?"

"Yes?"

"What I ment by that--what it means--. Mandolarians have clans."

Now Cel was really confused. She didn't want to interrupt, but she had no idea where he was going with this so she just rolled onto her side and nodded for him to continue.

"Like I told you, me and the kid we were a clan of two. When I said we all had each other, that's mean you're part of the clan too now. It means we're a clan, together."

Oh. Well that was incredibly sweet and she was going to be smiling like an idiot for the rest of the week, but that still didn't explain the room.

He must have picked up on her confusion because he seemed to grow frustrated, trying to find the right words before taking her hand and holding it in his much bigger one.

" _Together_."

Oh.

 _Oh_.

"Oh." she breathed out. 

Cel stared at their joined hands, her thoughts going a million miles a minute. Unfortunately her brain picked the worse combination and blurted out,"But I'm a jedi."

He tensed again and loosened his hand a bit, but Cel gripped it tighter and said,"What I mean is. You don't care that I'm a jedi?"

"Why would I?"

"Well, mandolarians and jedi, there's a lot of history, a lot of bloodshed. I may not be a _jedi_ jedi, but I want to make sure you're okay with that."

Mando gave his little huff and tightened his grip as well. "The one who gave me my armor, she told me that mandolarians and jedi were enemies, but I have met a lot enemies in my life and Celeste, you are not one of them."

Relaxing a little she found herself lost in thought once again.

That's what he had ment when he said they all had each other? Cel had thought he just ment it in a 'I'm here for you' way, she had just dropped a her entire past on him so she thought it made sense that he wanted her to know he was there for her. 

And Cel supposed if she was being completely honest, she hadn't wanted to read to much into it. To afraid that it would only end with her getting hurt.

Returning her attention to their hands she gently murmured,"Together." With a smile stretching across her face she looked back up at him and said," You know what mando? I like the sound of that, very much."

Mando let out a sigh of relief and, mindful of the child between them, pulled her close enough to rest their heads together. After a moment of silence she felt a flicker of nervousness from him and heard him whisper,"Din."

"What?"

"My name. Its Din djarin."

Cel stared into the visor of his helmet, her lips forming a small 'O'. She didn't need to know everything about mandolarian culture to understand the weight that those words must hold.

Giving him a reassuring smile she told him,"Din. That's a beautiful name. Thank you for telling me it."

He just wordlessly pulled her closer, but Cel could practically feel the smile through his helmet. Not that she was any better.

She wasn't sure how long they sat there, just holding each other, before a quiet yawn came up between them. Pulling back they both turned their attention to the child as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. 

Looking up at Cel he giggled happily and waddled closer reaching for her face. Untangling their hands she started rubbing the top of his head and said,"Well look who's awake. I hear I have you thank for my healed ribs."

The child just gave her a toothy grin and patted her cheek. Cel's smile grew wider as she brought him close enough to kiss the top of his head. "Thank you _pika_. I feel much better today." He giggled again before snuggling against her. 

Cel felt a burst of affection from mand--Din, from Din and saw his hand come to rest over hers. He was gently rubbing circles on the back of her hand with his thumb, something close to awe radiating from his, like he couldn't believe this was real. She reached out and laced their fingers together, feeling like she was floating on a cloud. 

They couldn't have been sitting there for more then a few minutes before the child squirmed out from beneath them and sat up, staring at the them expectantly.

"What is it _pika_?"

He just opened his mouth then made uppy hands.

Din laughed softly,"Breakfast time huh? Alright give me a second." 

He rolled off the bed and grabbed his bag, managing to dig out two protein bars. As he walked back Cel sat up and said,"Breakfast in bed? You sure know how to treat a girl." He just huffed and gave her one of the bars then turned to the child and started breaking pieces off and giving them to him. 

They sat in comfortable silence while eating and just as they were finishing up someone knocked on the door. Din gave the other bar to Cel so she could finish feeding the child and answered it. 

Cara nodded at him as she walked into the room then did a double take on Cel as she gave Cara a sunny smile and cheerful,"Good morning."

"Well, good morning",Cara said, sounding very amused,"Slept well I take it."

"Thanks to the little one, yes."

"I was going to say that you look a lot better today." Turning her attention to Din as well she asked,"Are you two heading out asap, or are you going to be staying here for a while?" 

Din looked over at Cel and tilted his head,"What do you want to do?"

She considered her options for a moment,"If I'm being completely honest I'd like to head back sooner rather then later." She couldn't quite explain it, but being so far from _the crest_ had her on edge." But I'd like to say goodbye to everyone first. Before you say anything I know they think I'm laid up on this bed with some broken ribs or whatever so I'll just take it easy, pretend like I'm more hurt then I actually am."

Cara shook her head, but smiled,"I had a feeling you were going to say that. Well we're heading out soon so if you wanna say bye, nows the time."

Cel nodded and got ready. With bags packed and the child in his bassinet, and Din having put his armor back on, they headed out. 

They made their way to the front of the Inn where Pan was checking over the hovercar and the Czerialan was sitting in the back, clearly more then ready to go. Enom was waiting by the by the stairs and her eyes widened as they walked down. "I thought you were supposed to be resting."

Cel just smiled,"It's not that bad, besides we're heading back a bit early and I wanted to say bye."

Pan came over with a smile,"Well look who's on her feet. How are you feeling?"

"Like I have some cracked ribs, but the painkiller are doing their job. Like I was telling Enom I just came down to say goodbye."

Pan placed his hand over his chest. "Aw, you came all the way down here to say goodbye to little old me? I'm flattered."

Cel snorted,"Yes I'm here to say goodbye to you specifically, no one else."

He laughed and said,"Well it's certainly been an adventure meeting you Celeste. _Ryma'allesh_ , and hey I know it's a big universe, but maybe we'll be seeing each other."

She smiled, giving him a nod and saying," _Ryma'allesh_ , Pan. Until our paths cross again."

He tilted his head a bit,"Until our paths cross again. I like that, better then goodbye." Pan gently patted her shoulder, waved at Din and the child then turned and walked back to the hovercar. 

Cel walked a bit closer to the cart and addressed the Czerialan. "Thank you for your help. I don't think I caught your name?"

She shifted a bit uncomfortably before saying,"I was simply repaying my debt, nothing more."

Cel gave her a patient smile. "I'd like to thank you all the same, you didn't have to."

Her eyes softened a bit and she mumbled out,"You're welcome." Cel nodded and turned to the others only to hear her say,"Yané. My name is Yané."

She looked back with a warm smile,"Thank you, Yané." 

The woman gave a curt nod then dropped her eyes to the floor. Cel returned to the others and asked,"Are you going with them Enom, or is your town a different way?"

"Nix is about a half a days ride to the west, so I will travel with them for a bit, then head my own way." She stood a bit straighter, opening and closing her mouth a few times as if trying to find the right words,"Celeste, you saved my life, I don't know how I can even begin to repay you."

Cel shook her head. "You came back with the speeder. Besides if you really feel that indebted you can just give us some drinks on the house next time we see you."

Enom laughed at that and said,"Of course. You are welcome any time."

Cel beamed. "Until our paths cross again, _ryma'allesh_ Enom."

Enom gave her a sad smile," _Ryma'allesh_ Celeste. I hope to see you soon." She walked over to the child and rubbed his ear one last time telling him,"Stay safe little one, although I'm sure your guardians will make sure of that,"then walked over to the speeder.

Cara slung her bag over her shoulder and gave a lazy two finger salute,"See you two in a few days,"then climbed into the cart and they started down the road with Enom following on the speeder.

Din and Cel watched the cart until it disappeared then went out hunting for their own hovercar. They managed to find a rental, and after loading their bags and strapping the bassinet in the back, they started on their way back. 

It was a blessedly peaceful drive. Cel had the child on her lap and he was overjoyed as his ears flapped in the wind, making excited noises and pointing out every little thing they passed. With how fast Din was driving, instead of the snail like pace the droid had been going on the way there, they hit the town about an hour after it got dark. After parking the hovercar, and Cel had places the sleeping child back in his bassinet, the two made their way back to the room Greef had given them.

Cel would be lying if she said that she wasn't relieved to be back. She moved to the bed and crouched down next to it then pulled up the mattress, grabbing the saber from where she had hid it, and felt a flicker of relief. She knew that it was going to still be here, but holding its comfortable weight in her hand put her fully at ease. Standing back up she looked over at the child, hearing him fuss, and felt her heart melt. 

Din had already picked him up and was rocking him side to side, murmuring to him gently. The child looked like he was desperately trying to resist the urge to fall asleep again and reached out his hand towards to the bed. Din tipped his head and asked,"You want to sleep with us again tonight, womp rat? Well I'm sure your _buir_ will be okay with that, but let's double check."

Cel glared at Din the second the word, womp, had left his mouth, but it instantly softened as she walked over and said,"Of course you can _pika_ , and don't worry, I won't let him call you mean names anymore."

Din laughed softly and handed the child to her before starting to strip off his armor. Cel walked over to the bed and crawled in it, rocking the child in her arms and humming a tune before laying him down. It only took Din a few minutes to get out of the armor then he crawled on the opposite side of the bed, with the child between him and Cel, just like that morning.

Din seemed to hesitated a moment before holding out his hand, which she gladly took with a warm smile. They sat there a moment, enjoying each others company, when Cel tilted her head and said," _Buir_ , what does that mean? I don't recognize the language."

Din took a minute to answer. "Its mando'a for mother."

Cel let out a little 'oh', then smiled as warmth filled her chest. He had said they were a clan, so she supposed that only made sense. Settling back against her pillow she started to drift only to be hit with a realization. "Oh, I never thanked you for coming to rescue me, did I?" 

"Don't need to thank me. I couldn't just leave you to those people, now could I." He said sounding almost offended.

Cel smile and leaned closer to him. "I know you don't think you need a thank you, but I was raised with manners so I'm going to thank you anyways." Maybe it was the exhaustion, or maybe she had just been waiting for the right opportunity, either way Cel kissed the top of his helmet, right where his forehead was, and said,"Din, _jun eswok_ , thank you for coming to rescue me."

He just sat there staring for a moment before getting out a strangled,"You're welcome." Resting her head against his she closed her eyes, only to open them again when she heard him gently murmured," _Ner cyare_."

Cel didn't understand what he said, but judging from his tone she could probably make a pretty good guess. She snuggled closer and knew she probably had the biggest, stupidest looking smile on her face, but she didn't care. With her head leaning against his, and the child asleep beneath their intertwined hands, Cel felt like she was home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kyp hated dealing with buyers, but they had lost more then a few guys and Doc had specifically asked him to sit in so he stood there nice and patiently as they waited for this guy to show up. About a half an hour later they heard footsteps moving towards them, and a group entered the room.

Humans, all of them and they were all wearing matching armor, with the bald one up front clearly the leader. His associates stayed back while he walked closer to the table and sat down, looking around the room.

"I don't see what I requested. Trying to charge me extra for a simple woman?" His voice was loud and authoritative, but not hostile, not yet at least.

Doc lost what was left of his patience and snapped out,"Simple? Simple?! We lost three men trying to get her, and we lost twelve more as her friends helped her escape." Leaning forward he hissed out,"Why didn't you inform us she was a jedi?"

The man leaned back with a scoff. "A jedi? Really? There are no more jedi, you must be mistaken."

Doc shook his head." I have not see a jedi in my time, but I heard stories of what they could do. She was able to command one of my men, held a gate open without even touching it, and jumped right over our wall."

The mans remained unconvinced. "You saw her do these thing? It wasn't just rumors your men spread?"

Doc nodded solemnly,"I saw her with my own two eyes."

The man's demeanor changed in an instant, going from disbelieving and dismissive to intensely focused. "So it's true, the white haired women is a jedi. Interesting." He stood up from the seat and flashed them a smile that made Kyp's skin crawl. "I offer my condolences for your men, and my apologies for my initial reaction. It would seem you have delivered exactly what I wanted after all." He tossed a case on the table and walked back to his group.

Doc hesitated before opening the case, revealing a stash of credits. He stared at it then looked towards the man and called out,"What exactly have we delivered to you?"

The man turned, the unnerving smile still on his face. "Confirmation."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twi'lek  
>  _Jun eswok_ = My heart
> 
> Mando'a  
>  _Ner cyare_ = My beloved 
> 
> Well my god we made it. I want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart who left comments, kudos, or even just took the time to read through this fic. I know it's not the best, but I had a lot of fun writing it. While I do have another one planned, it probably won't be out for a while. I was winging it through a lot of this and unfortunately it really shows, so I want to sit down and properly outline the next one before I even start on it. And well, that's it, again thank you so much for reading and I hope to see you in the next one :D


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